Fig. 11—Section of pelvis. a, section of pubis; b, bladder distended; c, the uterus in normal position; e, sacrum; f, urethra; g, vagina; h, hymen; i, the os uteri; j, meatus of urethra; k, vagina. ] STRUCTURE OF THE UTERUS. The proper tissue of the womb is composed of fibres, and is proved to be muscular. In the unimpregnated state it is dense, firm, and of a grayish color. The neck appears less firm than the body. The _internal or mucous membrane_ is thin, smooth, and closely adherent to the subjacent tissue. It is a quarter of an inch thick at the middle of the body of the uterus; in the neck it does not exceed one-twenty-fourth part of an inch in thickness. It is continuous through the fimbriated extremity of the Fallopian tubes with the peritoneum, and through the os uteri with the mucous membrane of the vagina. THE FALLOPIAN TUBES. The uterine or Fallopian tubes are two canals, about four inches long, placed in the superior border of the broad ligaments of the uterus. They extend for about three inches and a half, when they expand and terminate with a fringed process called the fimbria, which is applied to the ovary after impregnation. The Fallopian tubes serve the double purpose of a canal for transmitting the fecundating principle of the male and for carrying the germ furnished by the female to the uterus—in fact they are excretory ducts of the ovary. Injections into the uterus may pass into the peritoneal cavity, through the Fallopian tubes, and cause peritonitis. At each menstrual period an ovula passes along with the serum current in the Fallopian tubes to the uterus. THE OVARIES. The ovaries in the female are said to be the analogues of the testicles in the male; they both secrete a fluid that is essential to impregnation. They are situated on either side of the uterus, and are attached to either side of it by the posterior duplicature of the broad ligament called the ligament of the ovary. (Fig. 12). They are oval flattened bodies about an inch and a half long, three-quarters of an inch wide at their greatest breadth, and a quarter of a inch thick. They are situated on the sides of the uterus in that portion of the broad ligament called the posterior wing, just behind the Fallopian tubes. The ovary consists of a peculiar structure enclosed by two envelopes, one of which is serous and the other fibrous. Within the fibrous coat is a special tissue called the stroma; imbedded in this are numerous small round transparent vesicles in various stages of development, varying in size from that of a millet seed to that of a hemp seed. They are the ovisacs, containing the ova, and are called the Graafian vesicles. These have thin transparent walls and contain a clear fluid, and within that the ovula. Fifteen or twenty may readily be distinguished in the adult female without the aid of magnifying glasses.