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.
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![The functions of the chorion are to protect the embryo, and con- tribute to the formation of the placenta, and the exhalation of the fluids contained in the ovum. Its external surface is in relation with the caduca reflexa, and its internal with the amnios. C. A?nnios.—The amnios, or internal membrane of the ovum, affords an immediate envelope to the umbilical cord, foetus, and to the liquid in which this latter is enveloped. According to the opinion of the ancients, the amnios is contin- uous with the integuments of the foetus: this opinion, which was abandoned for a long time, was revived, about twenty years since, by an Italian professor, M. Mondini, of Bologna ; and quite recently M. Breschet has stated, in fact, that the amnios, without being con- tinuous with the epidermis, furnishes to the foetus a covering, the separation of which is effected by the desquamation which is ob- served in the child during the first few weeks of its life. This opin- ion does not appear to me to be sufficiently established. At the completion of pregnancy, the amnios presents an internal surface, which is smooth and polished ; separated from the foetus by the amniotic liquor, its external surface is in relation with the cho- rion, to which it adheres rather closely, near the insertion of the placenta, and in the whole extent of the umbilical cord ; but in the rest of its surface this adhesion is much less, and it yields readily; also, at the end of pregnancy, there is collected between the two membranes a certain quantity of fluid, which accoucheurs have de- nominated the false waters. The tissue of the amnios, although very similar to that of the chorion, is, however, of a more dense texture ; neither vessels nor nerves liave yet been seen in it. But in this membrane, as well as in the preceding, we can, by microscopic analysis, perceive certain porosities, through which the water exhaled by the uterine capilla- ries passes around the foetus by a simple endosmose. 2. Placenta. The placenta is a soft, spongy, vascular mass, resembling a cake (gateau). The round form which it ordinarily assumes varies sometimes, in consequence of the insertion of the umbilical cord. This inser- tion, which is most usually in the centre, may also take place on one of the boi'ders of the placenta. When the insertion is in the centre, the placenta is more or less circular, and resembles in form a mushroom; but when the inser- tion is near the border or circumference, the organ assumes an ellip- tical shape, which gives it more or less the a])j)earance of a kidney. Occasionally, instead of being fiat, and of an equal size, it is much thicker in the centre, and becomes thinner towards the borders, so as to present the form of a cone ; at other times, instead of forming but one mass, it is divided into several lobes. This disposition may give rise to serious accidents at the time of delivery.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21197878_0077.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
