Copy 5

Outline of midwifery, for the use of students / by James Hamilton.

  • James Hamilton
Date:
1826
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Outline of midwifery, for the use of students / by James Hamilton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the progress of pregnancy as much, in propor- tion, as that of the uterus, and its orifice is ren- dered much more dilatable. SECTION V. Contents of the Uterus at the Full Period of Pregnancy. , THE ovum consists of what are called the secundines, a certain quantity of watery fluid, and the infant. ‘The secundines comprehend three membranous layers, the placenta, and the navel- string. Of the three layers composing the membranes, that which lines the uterus is called decidua, and is highly vascular, being supplied by blood from the vessels of the womb. It contributes principally to connect the placenta to the uterus. The placenta is a highly vascular spongy mass, most commonly of a rounded shape, of about four or five inches diameter, and from one to two inches thick at its centre, gradually becom- ing thin at its circumference. By one surface, which is lobulated, it is glued to the uterus, while the surface next the infant is covered with the middle and inner layers of the membranes, and into that surface the navel-string is inserted. It is most usually situated at the fundus of the uterus ; but has been found attached to every - different part from the fundus to the orifice.