The Fallopian tubes, or oviducts (_n_) convey the ova from the ovaries to the cavity of the uterus. They are two in number, one on each side, situated in the free margin of the broad ligament, extending from each superior angle of the uterus to the ovaries. Each tube is about four inches in length; its canal is exceedingly minute, and commences at the superior angle of the womb by a minute orifice, the _ostium internum_, or internal mouth, which will hardly admit a fine bristle; it continues narrow along the inner half of the tube, and then gradually widens into a trumpet-shaped extremity, which becomes contracted at its termination. This opening is called the _ostium abdominale_, or abdominal mouth, because it communicates freely with the abdominal cavity. The margins of this extremity are surrounded by a series of fringe-like processes, termed _fimbriæ_, and one of these processes is connected with the outer end of the ovary. This part of the Fallopian tube is called the fimbriated or fringed extremity (_m_). THE OVARIES. The ovaries are analogous to the testes in the male. They are two oblong flattened and oval bodies, situated one on each side of the uterus, in the posterior part of the broad ligament behind and below the Fallopian tubes. Each ovary is connected, by its anterior margin, to the broad ligament, by its inner extremity to the uterus by a proper ligament of the ovary, and by its outer end to the fimbriated extremity of the Fallopian tube by a short ligamentous cord. The ovaries are of a whitish color, and present either a smooth or a puckered uneven surface. They are each about an inch and a half in length, three-quarters of an inch in width, and about a third of an inch thick, and weigh from one to two drams. CHAPTER IX. MENSTRUATION AND MENSTRUAL DISORDERS. THE first appearance of the menses marks an epoch in the life of the girl which ushers in womanhood. It is the harbinger of the fruitfulness of the maiden, whose limbs now become rounder, and her hips widen out, while the breasts increase in size and the entire aspect undergoes peculiar changes, which all point to the approaching condition of maturity. The term is derived from the _Latin_ plural _menses_, meaning month, from moon, and it is an actual fact that the lunar forces seem to influence this physiological function, inasmuch as it recurs every four weeks; most women menstruate during the first quarter, and only a very few during the new or full moon. During infancy and childhood, the sexual system of the female is inactive. The menstruation begins, in a temperate climate, about the fourteenth or fifteenth year of life, and ceases at the age of forty-five or a little later. The climate exerts a marked influence in determinating the first appearance of menstruation, which is further influenced by the conditions of life and society in which the child is brought up.