The female organs of generation have been usually classed by the English
authors under the two heads of _internal_ and _external_; a similar
arrangement has also been followed by the Continental writers, but with
the advantage of using distinctive terms which are more expressive of
their peculiar functions, viz. the _formative_ and _copulative_ organs.
Under the first are included the ovaria, Fallopian tubes, and uterus:
under the second, the vagina and external parts. We propose to give a
short description of these in the unimpregnated state, and then to
describe the changes which they present during pregnancy, labour, and the
puerperal condition. In point of situation and arrangement they bear a
considerable resemblance to the generative organs in the male, being
situated at the lower portion of the trunk, and arranged in symmetrical
order, so that they either occur in pairs, one on each side the median
line of the body, or singly, being equally divided by it throughout their
whole length. Although there is in many points considerable difference
between the male and female organs, still there is sufficient resemblance
to entitle them to be considered as being formed upon the same fundamental
type, a resemblance which is seen still more strikingly in the early
periods of foetal life. They differ essentially from all the other organs
of the system, being in activity during a portion of a woman's life only,
and then only at intervals.
_Ovaria._ The ovaries are situated in the upper part of the cavity of the
pelvis, one on each side, near to the uterus, to which they are merely
attached by a ligament (the _ligamentum ovarii_) which is a portion of
that duplicature of the peritoneum which connects the uterus to the
pelvis, and is known by the name of ligamentum latum, or broad ligament.
They are of an oval figure; their anterior and posterior surface is
convex, the superior margin is also convex, while their lower edge is
straight or somewhat concave: towards their inner and outer extremities
they become thinner.
Their external surface in the virgin state is usually smooth, but in
advanced age they become uneven and shrivelled; when fully developed they
are about an inch and a half in length: their greatest breadth, which is
at that portion of the ovary which is farthest from the uterus, is half an
inch; their thickness is somewhat less.
[Illustration: Convoluted arteries of the ovary, crossing it in nearly
parallel lines.]
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