The internal sex organs of the woman are as follows: The Vagina; the
Uterus and its appendages; the Fallopian Tubes; the Ovaries, and their
ligaments, and the round ligaments.
THE VAGINA is the canal or channel leading from the Vaginal Orifice to
the Uterus or womb. It is situated in front of the rectum, and behind
the bladder. In length, it averages from three to five inches; and it
curves upward and backward, reaching to the lower part of the neck of
the womb, or Uterus, which part of the neck is enclosed by it. It is a
strong fibro-muscular structure, lined with mucous membrane; and is not
smooth inside, but is arranged in inner folds or rings which are capable
of great extension.
On either side of the Vagina, near the outer orifice, are two small
glands, about the size of a pea, which secrete a peculiar fluid, and
which are known as the Glands of Bartholine. The office of the Vagina is
that of a complementary to the male organ during the copulative process;
to also sustain the weight of the Uterus; to also afford a passage for
the infant at the time of its birth; and also to serve as a passage for
the menstrual fluid.
THE UTERUS, or Womb, is the internal sex organ of the woman which serves
to hold the fertilized ovum, or egg, from the time of impregnation,
during the period of pregnancy during which the ovum develops into the
young child, and until the time of the delivery of the child.
The Uterus is a hollow pear-shaped muscular organ, about three inches in
length, nearly an inch thick, and about two inches broad across its
upper part, or FUNDUS; the lower part, or CERVIX, being much narrower.
The CERVIX, or "neck" of the womb, projects into the Vagina, forming the
"os uteri," or "mouth of the womb," at that point. The Uterus is
composed chiefly of a muscular coat, its walls consisting of strong
muscular fibres which contract independently of the will, as do similar
muscles in the stomach and bladder. These muscular walls are capable of
enormous distention during pregnancy. The muscles of the healthy womb
are capable of a tremendous pressure and resistance, and are capable of
expelling the child with but slight labor at the time of delivery.
The Uterus is located just behind and slightly above the bladder, and is
supported by eight ligaments which, in a healthy condition, hold it
firmly and easily in place. Displacements of the Uterus are due to the
weakening or relaxing of some or all of these ligaments, generally
caused by general weakness or else by excessive physical exercise or
labor. The principal DISPLACEMENTS OF THE UTERUS are as follows:
Prolapsus, or lowering of the womb in the vagina; Antroversion, or the
bending forward of the womb; Anteflexion, or the "doubling up" of the
womb FORWARD on itself; Retroversion, or the bending backward of the
womb; and Retroflexion, or the "doubling up" of the womb BACKWARD on
itself. Extreme degrees of the last four mentioned forms of displacement
often interfere with impregnation.
The internal surface of the Uterus is lined with mucous membrane
thickly studded with minute hairlike cells which manifest continuous
motion. This motion, in the lower part of the womb, is in the direction
of the fundus or upper part of the womb; in the upper part of the womb,
the motion is in the opposite direction; the purpose of these opposing
movements being to carry the male elements toward that portion of the
womb into which the Fallopian Tubes discharge the products of the
Ovaries, as we shall see presently.
The Uterus is supplied with follicles around its neck which secrete a
very firm, adhesive mucus substance, which serves as a gate or door
across the mouth of the womb during the period of pregnancy, and which
also serves to prevent the accidental displacement of the ovum or egg.
During and just after menstruation, the Uterus becomes enlarged and more
vascular. During pregnancy, it largely increases in weight. After
delivery, it resumes its normal size, but the cavity is larger than
before conception. In old age, it becomes atrophied and denser in
structure.
THE FALLOPIAN TUBES are the ducts of the Ovaries, and serve to convey
the ova, or eggs, from the Ovaries to the cavity in the Uterus. They are
two in number, one on each side, each tube being about four inches in
length. They extend from either side of the fundus of the womb, through
the broad ligaments which hold them and the Ovaries in position until
they communicate with the Ovaries. They are lined with a membrane
composed of the same kind of peculiar hair-like cells which are found in
the lining of the womb, the purpose in this case being to urge forward
the ova or eggs toward the Uterus.
At the ovarian end of the tubes the latter expand into a fringed,
trumpet-shaped extremity, the fringe being known as "the fimbria." The
tubes are only about one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, and their
small caliber makes it easy for them to clog up as the result of slight
inflammation, or to become clogged up or sealed at their mouths or
openings, thus causing sterility or inability of the woman to conceive.
If the tubes are clogged, or sealed up, it of course is impossible for
the ova or eggs to reach the uterus.
THE OVARIES are the two oval-shaped bodies lying one on either side of
the Uterus. In them the ova, or eggs, are formed. They are each about
one and one-half inches long, about one inch wide, and about one-half an
inch thick. In addition to their attachment to the broad ligament, they
are held in position by folds or ligaments running to the fundus of the
Uterus and to the fimbriated extremities of the Fallopian Tubes. The
Ovaries are covered by a dense, firm coating which encloses a soft
fibrous tissue, abundantly supplied with blood-vessels, which is called
the stroma. Imbedded in the mesh-like tissue of the stroma are found
numerous small, round, transparent vesicles, in various stages of
development, known as the Graafian follicles, which are lined with a
layer of peculiar granular cells. These Graafian follicles are the
receptacles or sacs which contain the ova, or eggs, which constitute the
female reproductive germ. Each vesicle contains a single ovum or egg.
Summary.
From the foregoing, it is seen that we may enumerate the sex organs of
the woman as follows, proceeding from the external to the internal
organism: First, the Mons Veneris, or prominent eminence above the more
important external sex organs; then the Labia Majora, or large outer
"lips" or folds, which are plainly discernable to the ordinary view;
then the Labia Minora, or smaller inner "lips" or folds, and the
Clitoris or small sensitive organ, and the Meatus Urinarius or urinary
orifice, all of which are discernable only when the folds of the Labia
Majora are parted or opened. Then, proceeding upward and backward from
the Vaginal Orifice, we find the Vagina, or channel or canal leading to
the Uterus or Womb; then we find the Uterus or Womb at the upper end of
the canal or channel of the Vagina. Then extending from either side of
the Uterus or Womb we find those two important sets of organs known as
the Fallopian Tubes, and the Ovaries, respectively. The Ovaries
discharge their ova, or eggs, into the Fallopian Tubes, from whence they
are conveyed to the Uterus or Womb, with which the tubes are connected
and into which they open at its upper and large end.
THE PELVIS is that bony arch in the cavity of which are contained the
internal sex organs of the woman. The Pelvis is a bony basin which holds
and supports the pelvic organs, and is composed of three important
parts, as follows: (1) The Sacrum, consisting of five sections of the
vertebral column, or spine, fused together so as to constitute the solid
part of the lower spine and the back of the Pelvis; (2) the two
Hip-Bones, one on each side of the Pelvis; (3) the Pubic Arch, or the
front part of the Pelvis, formed by the junction of the two Hip-Bones in
front. Attached to the Hip-Bones are the thighs, and also the large
Gluteal Muscles which constitute the buttocks, or "seat."
The Pelvis of the woman is quite different from that of the man. It is
shallower and wider, and lighter in structure than that of the male, and
the margins of the Hip-Bones are more widely separated, thus making the
hips of the woman far more prominent than those of the man. Also, the
Sacrum is shorter than that of the man, and the Pubic Arch wider and
more rounded than his. This difference in the bony structure is made
necessary by the demand for larger space in the female Pelvis required
for the purposes of childbirth. These differences are not so perceptible
in childhood, but become marked and pronounced at puberty.