Medical Jurisprudence, Volume 3 (of 3) — John Shaqi
Medical Jurisprudence, Volume 3 (of 3)Paris, John Ayrton
Science
Medical Jurisprudence, Volume 3 (of 3)
Paris, John Ayrton
Medical laws and legislation -- Great Britain
_Examination of the uterus and its appendages._—In the case of a female
the organs of generation should always be inspected; very important
conclusions may be deduced from the discovery of an unimpregnated
uterus. In the case of _Miss Burns_, to which we have so frequently
alluded in the progress of our work, this part of the dissection was so
incomplete as to occasion considerable dissatisfaction. The uterus and
its appendages having been carefully removed from the body, we should
proceed to expose the cavity of the former by an incision, from near the
_os tincæ_ to the _fundus_, and by a transverse section at the _fundus_,
between the inner ends of the _fallopian tubes_. This organ is liable,
amongst other diseases, to inflammation, ulceration, schirrus,
tubercles, polypus, dropsy, and organised masses, or _moles_; upon which
we shall offer such observations as appear to connect the dissection
with questions of forensic interest. In an adult and unimpregnated
female its length is about 2½ inches; its thickness, 1 inch; its breadth
at the fundus 1½ or 2 inches, and at the cervix about 10 lines. Although
it returns after parturition to its original size, it never becomes
again so small as it was in the virgin. In women who have borne many
children, the neck of the uterus is generally thicker, and more rounded;
its orifice, or _os tincæ_, is always very gaping, and the lips more or
less irregular, presenting generally one or more grooves, or chops,
separated by what appear like tubercles. The _os uteri_ may, however, be
as regular in its figure in women who have borne children, as in others;
and on the contrary, it may present in the latter, those irregularities
which are more usual in the former; hence the inferences drawn from the
state of this part, in cases where infanticide is suspected, or where
parturition is supposed to have been concealed, cannot be received as
being unexceptionable, although they will add to the weight of evidence,
and assist us, in conjunction with other evidence, in attaining that
high degree of probability, which practically amounts to certainty. The
cavity of the _cervix uteri_ undergoes also a change in form and
appearance, which it is necessary to notice, although we are not
disposed to assign very great importance to its indications. In women
who have never borne children, the figure of the cavity may be said to
resemble that of two cones joined bases to base, more capacious in the
middle than at the two extremities; but, from the time of conception,
that extremity of the canal, which opens into the vagina, is dilated;
and, after parturition has once occurred, it is always found much wider
than before, when it represents a cone with the basis towards the
_vagina_, and the apex towards the _fundus uteri_. By a schirrous
enlargement, the uterus may arrive at a very considerable size. _Dr.
Baillie_ has seen it as large as the gravid uterus at the sixth month;
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account