A special significance must be attached to the glands of the cervix uteri, which, according to my own observations, have the function of providing a secretion that increases the mobility of the spermatozoa, and this enables them more readily to find their way into the uterus. I have endeavored, by a series of histological observations, to determine the properties of these glands and the changes they undergo in the different phases of sexual life. The most important results of these researches may be stated as follows. These glands, which are lined with columnar ciliated epithelium, are but slightly developed before puberty, being then simple excavations; at the time of the menarche, they become tubular; later, during the menacme, they become long, dendriform, blind-ending glands, which during menstruation and under the influence of sexual excitement, furnish a secretion, variable in quantity, and in quality distinguished especially by its alkaline reaction; further, in connection with a number of pathological disorders of the female genital organs, these glands undergo various changes both in their anatomical structure and in their secretory activity. At the time of the menopause and after the climacteric age, these glands, which have hitherto consisted of branched tubules, tend to undergo cystic degeneration, leading to the formation of the vesicles known as _ovula Nabothi_. After the climacteric, the existence of these cysts may be regarded as a normal occurrence; and, sometimes arranged in grape-like clusters, they often project so as to occupy the greater part of the lumen of the cervical canal. [Illustration: FIG. 52.—Sagittal section through the cervix uteri of a woman 26 years of age, dendriform branched glands. ] [Illustration: FIG. 53.—Cervix of a woman 72 years of age, with glands that have undergone cystic degeneration. ] [Illustration: FIG. 54.—Sagittal section through the cervix uteri of a woman 65 years of age. The glands have undergone cystic degeneration. ] Diseases of the uterine mucous membrane during the period of sexual maturity often induce various pathological changes in these cervical glands. In consequence of obstruction of their excretory ducts, they may undergo cystic degeneration, forming follicles filled with mucus and epithelium, or cavities containing blood, which pass through the substance of the cervix in every direction; or they may give rise to the formation of slowly-growing glandular polypi and other glandular new formations—changes the general result of all of which is to interfere with the secretory function of the glands. PATHOLOGY OF THE MENACME.