A practical treatise on midwifery / by M. Chailly ... A work adopted by the Royal council of public instruction. Tr. from the French and ed. by Gunning S. Bedford.
- Chailly-Honoré, Nicolas Charles, 1805-1866.
- Date:
- 1847
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A practical treatise on midwifery / by M. Chailly ... A work adopted by the Royal council of public instruction. Tr. from the French and ed. by Gunning S. Bedford. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Lamar Soutter Library, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
53/562 page 31
![testine, the omphalo-mcsenteric vessels which pass from the vesi- cle, and the two arteries and umbilical vein. The mass of amnio- tic lluid at this period exceeds that of the fcEtus. B. Situation of the Uterus.—The uterus is contained in the cav- ity of the pelvis ; its fundus docs not extend'above the ])ubes ; how- ever, with one hand placed upon the hypogastric walls, especially if the neck is raised by the finger introduced into the vagina, it will be easy to feel the fundus of the womb, which is thrown a little backward and to the right; this viscus is softened in its whole ex- tent, and particularly at its inferior part. Some authors have thought that the os tinea) is longer at this period than in the unim- pregnated state, but such is not the fact. The descent of the en- tire organ, which is determined by its weight and softness, has given rise to the belief that the neck becomes lengthened. In fact, if the neck be circumscribed by the index finger, it will be per- ceived that the vagina is slightly shortened, that the extremity of the finger is arrested by the cul-de-sac of the vagina, and that above this cul-de-sac there is felt a resisting body, which is nothing more than the inferior segment of the enlarged womb. And, more- over, if the finger placed upon the neck attempts to elevate the organ, its weight and immobility are immediately perceived. We may also form an idea of the length of the uterus by including it between the finger placed upon the neck and the hand applied to the exterior of its fundus. C. Length.—Measured on the cadaver, the length of the body of the womb is three inches, and if be added to this for the length of the neck twenty-two lines, we shall have for the vertical diameter four inches and eight lines; but, in consequence of the sinking down of the uterus, this diameter is not more than four inches and six lines. D. Form.—The uterus, which, in its unimpregnated state, was pyriform, flattened from before backward, now becomes somewhat rounded. The anterior surface, a little more convex than the pos- terior before conception, maintains this same character during pregnancy. E. Thickness.—The thickness of the walls increases slightly in consequence of the development of the muscular and vascular tis- sues ; but it is dijFicult to recognise these changes at so early a pe- riod of pregnancy. The first changes in the body of the uterus are nearly the same in a primipara as in subsequent pregnancies. But in a lemale who has borne children, such is not the case with the changes produced by pregnancy in the neck. However, the primipara and female who has borne children have some characters in common. The finger introduced into the vagina discovers the vaginal portion of the neck low down, en- larged, and softened at its base, while that portion of the neck above the vagina is not yet changed. In the primipara, the transverse orifice of the womb becomes circular : it is regular in its contour, and closed; the os tincee](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21197878_0053.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
