puberty has been fully attained. The os tincæ or os uteri externum first appears as a scarcely perceptible prominence projecting into the vagina; it increases gradually in size until the latter months of gestation, when the portio vaginalis is relatively much larger than afterwards.

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Uterus simplex.

The parietes of the uterus are thin in proportion to the age of the embryo. They are of an equal thickness throughout at first: at the fifth month, the cervix becomes thicker than the upper parts; between five or six years of age, the uterine parietes are nearly of an equal thickness, and remain so until the period of puberty, when the body becomes somewhat thicker than the cervix.

As the function of menstruation with its various derangements will be considered among the diseases of the unimpregnated state, we proceed to consider those changes which the uterus undergoes during pregnancy as well as during and after labour: these are very remarkable both as regards its structure, form, and size.

Shortly after conception, and before we can perceive any traces of the embryo, the uterus becomes softer and somewhat larger, its blood vessels increased in size, and the fibrous layers of which its parietes are composed looser and more or less separated. The internal surface when minutely examined has a flocculent appearance, and very quickly after conception becomes covered with a whitish paste-like substance, which is secreted from the vessels opening upon it; this pulpy effusion soon becomes firmer and more dense; it bears a strong analogy to coagulable lymph, and forms a membrane which lines the whole cavity of the uterus, and which in the course of a few weeks (from changes to be mentioned hereafter) crosses the os uteri and thus closes it. The uterine cavity in a short time becomes still further closed by the canal of the cervix being completely sealed, as it were, by a tough plug of gelatinous matter which is secreted by the glandules of that part.

The structure of the uterus becomes remarkably altered; its fibrous structure is much more apparent; in fact, it is only during pregnancy, or when the uterus has been distended by some anormal growth, that we are able to detect the uterine fibres with any degree of certainty. This has led some anatomists to consider that they are only formed at such periods, a supposition which is not very probable; at any rate they now become very distinct: hence the uterus does not owe its increasing size to mere extension, but it evidently acquires a considerable increase of substance, a fact which is not only proved by examining the contracted uterus after labour at the full period, but also by comparing its weight with that of the unimpregnated organ. The adult virgin uterus weighs about one ounce, whereas the gravid uterus at the full term of pregnancy, when emptied of its contents, weighs at least twenty-four ounces, showing that there has been an actual increment of substance in the proportion of one to twenty-four. Having ascertained this point, it next becomes a question, whether the parietes of the gravid uterus increase in thickness during pregnancy, or whether they become thinner. Meckel, who is one of the greatest modern authorities on these subjects, states that from careful admeasurement of sixteen gravid uteri at different periods of gestation, he finds the parietes become thicker during the first, second, or third months, but after this period they become gradually thinner up to the full time: they are thicker in the upper parts of the uterus, whereas inferiorly they are a third or nearly a half less.

Nothing proves the actual increase of bulk and substance in the uterus more than its appearance when contracted immediately after labour at the full term; it forms a fleshy mass as large as the head of a new-born child, the parietes of which are at least an inch in thickness.

"The spongy or cellular tissue (says M. Leroux) becomes considerably

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developed during pregnancy, and its porous cells increase in proportion as the uterus dilates, more especially at the fundus and the spot where the pla-* centa is attached, where they become so large as to admit a goosequill. The internal membrane is pierced with numerous orifices, of which some are the mouths of arteries and others communicate with the cells already mentioned. This membrane also during pregnancy forms those irregularly tufted ruga, which serve to give a more intimate connection between the uterus and the placenta. In the unimpregnated uterus and in the intervals between the menstrual periods the little orifices which are observed in the lining membrane of the uterus contain only a transparent lymph, which lubricates the interior of the uterus; during the appearance of the menses they contain blood, and during pregnancy they are connected with the vessels of the placenta and chorion." *

There is no circumstance in which the gravid uterus differs more from the unimpregnated than in the size and termination of its blood vessels. The arteries, both spermatic and hypogastric, are very much enlarged. The hypogastric is commonly considerably larger than the spermatic, and we very often find them of unequal sizes in the different sides. They form a large trunk of communication all along the side of the uterus, and from this the branches are sent across the body of the uterus both before and behind. The cervix uteri has branches only from the hypogastrics, and the fundus only from the spermatics; or in other words the hypogastric artery gives a number of branches to the cervix, besides sending up the great anastomosing branch, and the spermatic artery supplies the tube and fundus uteri before it gives down the anastomosing branch on the lateral parts of the uterus. All through the substance of the uterus there are infinite numbers of arteries large and small, so that the whole arterial system makes a general network, and the arteries are convoluted or serpentine in their course. † Hardly any of the larger arteries are seen for any length of way upon the outside of the uterus. they branch from the sides where they first approach the uterus, they disappear by plunging deeper and deeper into its substance.

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The arterial branches which are most enlarged are those which run towards the placenta, so that wherever the placenta adheres, that part appears evidently to receive by much the greatest quantity of blood, and the greatest number both of the large and small arteries at that part pass through to the placenta, and are necessarily always torn through upon its separation. The veins of the uterus would appear to be still more enlarged in proportion than the arteries. The spermatic and hypogastric veins in general follow the course of the arteries, and like them anastomose on the side of the uterus. From thence they ramify through the substance of the uterus, running deeper and deeper as they go on, and without following precisely the course of the arterial branches. They form a plexus of the largest and most frequent communications which we know of in the vessels of the human body, and this they have in common with the arteries that their larger branches go to, or rather come from, that part of the uterus to which the placenta adheres: so that when the venous system of the uterus is well injected, it is evident that that part is the chief source of returning blood. Here too both the large and small veins are continued from the placenta to the uterus, and are always necessarily broken, upon the separation of these two parts. As I know no reason for calling the veins of the uterus sinuses, and as that expression has probably occasioned much confusion among the writers upon this subject, I have industriously avoided it. ‡

* Leroux sur les Pertes de Sang.

†The tortuous serpentine course which the arteries of the uterus take, is not, as has been generally supposed, a provision of nature against the increase of size which the uterus has to undergo during pregnancy, but is the result of the structure in which they ramify, having already undergone these changes during a previous pregnancy.

Anatomical Description of the Human Gravid Uterus, &c.: by W. Hunter, M.D.

The form of the uterus changes considerably during pregnancy: the upper part appears to increase in greater proportion than the lower, a fact which appears to be proved from the alteration which takes place in the relative position of the Fallopian tubes, which are situated much lower down the sides of the uterus at full term than in the unimpregnated state, nor do they entirely regain their former position after labour, until the female has attained an advanced age; hence as the cervix diminishes in length during the latter half of pregnancy, it follows that the difference in point of size between the fundus and the body of the uterus and this part will be continually increasing.

As the uterus increases, the fundus of course rises and can be felt through the distended abdominal parietes: its anterior surface, especially in the latter month of pregnancy, lies immediately behind the anterior wall of the abdominal cavity, and pushes the small intestines upwards, backwards, and to the sides.

The form of the gravid uterus differs also from that in the unimpregnated state in other respects, and this difference appears to depend in great measure upon its increase of size, and upon the form of the cavities which it occupies. Thus in the unimpregnated state when it occupies the cavity of the pelvis, its anterior surface which corresponds to the bladder is flattened; whereas its posterior surface, which is turned towards the hollow of the sacrum, is convex; it is however the reverse during the latter half of pregnancy. The anterior surface is now strongly convex, being merely covered by the yielding anterior wall of the abdomen; whereas posteriorly the uterus is nearly concave, corresponding to the sclid convexity of the lumbar vertebræ, a fact which may be easily ascertained by examining the abdomen of a patient in the last month of pregnancy while lying down. The situation and position of the uterus are also changed in the unimpregnated state; the fundus is inclined somewhat backwards, the os uteri being nearly in the centre of the pelvic cavity, but the gravid uterus during the latter half of pregnancy has its fundus strongly inclined forwards and the os uteri directed backwards towards the upper part of the hollow of the sacrum.* *

A minute and intimate knowledge of the changes and appearances which the uterus presents at every period of pregnancy, is essential to the diagnosis and treatment of the various derangements to which this process is subject. The numerous and important questions in medical jurisprudence connected with pregnancy can alone be determined by its means; and it is only by more close and attentive observation of every step in the gradual developement of the uterus up to the full term of gestation, that we can expect to increase our means of forming a correct and certain diagnosis in those cases of doubtful pregnancy, where not merely professional reputation is more or less at stake, but the character, happiness, and even life of the individual upon whose case we are required to decide.

During the first month of pregnancy the changes are not very appreciable upon examination during life. The uterus has become larger, softer, and more vascular, much as it does during a menstrual period. The portio vaginalis of the cervix, which in the unimpregnated state is hard and almost cartilaginous to the feel, becomes softer and larger † : the transverse fissure which the os uteri forms is more oval.

* The axis of the brim of the pelvis runs in such a direction, that if a line were drawn from its centre, it would pass upwards and forwards through the umbilicus; the gravid uterus has its axis rarely or never inclined less than this, and usually much more, especially in multiparæ, in whom the fundus is occasionally inclined so strongly forwards as to receive the name of pendulous belly.

† We are inclined to think that the soft feel of the portio vaginalis is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy which can be detected by examination. Our attention was first drawn to it in an obscure case of early pregnancy, complicated with extensive disease, which we examined with Mr. Ingleby of Birmingham, and where we gave a wrong diagnosis, not considering the patient to be pregnant. If we had placed as much confidence in this symptom as we are now inclined to do, we should probably have formed a more correct view of the case. Since this we have, on several occasions, found that attending to this circumstance has considerably assisted us in determining cases of doubtful pregnancy at an early period.

In the second month the abdomen becomes somewhat flat: the portio vaginalis can be now reached by the finger with greater ease than at any time of pregnancy, which is not from the uterus itself being lower in the pelvis, but from not yet having altered its position; any increase of its size therefore will cause its inferior extremity to be felt lower down and nearer to the os externum. The os uteri has undergone a considerable change, inasmuch as its edges have lost their lip-like figure; they now form a ring or rather dimple-like concavity at the lower end of the cervix, its canal being closed by the gelatinous plug already mentioned.

In primiparæ, or women pregnant for the first time, the margin of the os uteri thus closed is not only circular but perfectly smooth; whereas in multiparæ, not only is the cervix usually larger in every direction, but the os uteri itself is larger, thicker, and of an irregular shape; it is also knotty here and there from little callous cicatrices, where its edge has been torn in former labours.

In the third month of pregnancy the uterus rises above the brim of the pelvis. A slight protrusion of the abdomen may be sometimes observed above the pubes; the os uteri is not reached so easily as in the preceding month. The alteration which takes place in the situation of the uterus during the third month appears to result from the gradual shortening of the broad ligament as it increases in size. As the uterus rises it pushes up that portion of the small intestines which rests upon it; these however being confined by the mesentery to the spine, and therefore prevented ascending before the uterus, at length slip down behind it, and the fundus being freed from the superincumbent pressure rises in a direction upwards and forwards into the cavity of the abdomen. The direction of the uterus becomes much altered; the os uteri is no longer in the middle of the pelvic cavity, but inclines towards the upper part of the hollow of the sacrum, whereas the fundus approaches more and more to the anterior parietes of the abdomen.

In the fourth month the fundus uteri has risen about two or three fingers' breadth above the symphysis pubis; this is not very easily ascertained even in a thin person, still less where the patient is stout and the parietes of the abdomen therefore thick. The directions which the celebrated Roederer has given for making an examination of the abdomen during the early months of pregnancy, are well worthy of notice. Having evacuated the bladder and rectum, the patient should be placed in a half-sitting posture with the knees drawn up, so as to relax the abdominal parietes as much as possible: she must then breathe slowly and deeply; and if the hand be suddenly pressed against the abdomen a little above the symphysis pubis, at the moment of her making a full expiration, we shall in all probability feel the hard globe of the uterus.

In the fifth month the fundus will be felt half way, or a little more, between the symphysis pubis and umbilicus. The increased size of the abdomen can

Cervix uteri about the sixth or seventh month.

not be concealed by the dress; the portio vaginalis has become distinctly shorter, and the os uteri is situated higher in the pelvis and more posteriorly.

In the sixth month the fundus has risen as high as the umbilicus; the irregular folds of skin which form the fovea umbilici or navel depression begin to disappear; the first perceptible movements of the child may occasionally be felt; the portio vaginalis has lost half its length, being scarcely half an inch in length.

In the seventh month the fundus rises an inch or so above the umbilicus, the folds of which have nearly disappeared. In some cases it begins to protrude, forming a species of umbilical hernia: this varies a good deal in different individuals, being more

marked in primiparæ; whereas in women, whose abdomen has been distended in previous pregnancies, little or no convexity of the navel is produced until a later period, and not always even then, the umbilical depression being merely diminished in point of depth, and its folds not so strongly marked. The movements of the child are now perfectly distinct; the portio vaginalis is still shorter, and approaches more and more to the upper part of the hollow of the sacrum. The anterior portion of the inferior segment of the uterus, or that part which extends from the os uteri towards the sym physis pubis, is now considerably developed and convex, and on pressing the point of the finger against it the presenting part of the child will be felt. When this is the head, as is usually the case, it will feel like a light ball which rises when pushed by the finger, but which, if the finger be held still, in a few moments descends and may again be felt.

In the eighth month the fundus has risen half way between the umbilicus

and the scrobiculus cordis. The abdomen has increased considerably in size, and has become more convex; the umbilical depression in primiparæ has entirely disappeared. The portio vaginalis is still shorter, being barely a quarter of an inch in length. The os uteri is so high up as not to be reached without difficulty; the presenting part of the child can be distinctly felt.

In the ninth month, the fundus has reached nearly to the scrobiculus

cordis, and by the end of the month is quite in it; this is more especially the

case with primiparæ: the anterior parietes of the abdomen not allowing the fundus to incline so strongly forwards, the oppression of breathing is therefore more marked in them than in multiparæ, for the fundus uteri rising so high prevents in great measure the action of the diaphragm, so that the chest is expanded by other muscles; hence the shortness of breath and inability. of moving, so frequently complained of at this period of utero-gestation. The portio vaginalis is still shorter, and in the primipara forms little more than a soft cushiony ring which marks the os uteri The inferior part of the uterus is becoming more spherical, and is usually occupied by the presenting part of the child: this latter is no longer so moveable as before, its size as also its weight being evidently increased. That portion of the uterus which extends between the symphysis pubis and os uteri is now not only more convex but lower in the pelvis than the os uteri itself. During the last four weeks of pregnancy a considerable change is observed. The fundus is now lower than it was in the preceding month, being about half way between the scrobiculus cordis and umbilicus; the abdomen has, as it is called, fallen; and from the diaphragm being now able to resume its functions the breathing becomes more easy, and the female feels more comfortable and capable of moving about. On examination per vaginam the anterior portion of the inferior segment of the uterus will be felt still deeper in the pelvis: if the head presents it distends this part of the uterus, so that, in many cases, we have to pass the finger round it before we can reach the os uteri, which is now. in the upper part of the hollow of the sacrum. All traces of the cervix have now disappeared, it having been required to complete the full developement of