The menstruation and ovulation of Macacus rhesus : with observations on the changes undergone by the discharged follicle. Pt. II / by Walter Heape ; [communicated by M. Foster].

  • Walter Heape
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The menstruation and ovulation of Macacus rhesus : with observations on the changes undergone by the discharged follicle. Pt. II / by Walter Heape ; [communicated by M. Foster]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Benares. A very large proportion of these either had embryos in an advanced stage of development in utero, or had recently borne young ; of the remainder many had not yet reached the age of puberty, and when all doubtful cases were excluded, seventeen specimens alone remained which could he used for the purpose of investi- gating the phenomena of menstruation. Five of these were referable to Stage 1, the resting or intermenstrual stage, and the other twelve to various stages of the menstrual cycle. Great care was taken to exclude all animals about which there was any doubt either as to perfect health, prematui-e abortion, or recent delivery. The size of the uterus and the condition of its muscular coat, the consistency of the walls of the os uteri and whether or not it was dilated, and the condition of the mammary glands, were specially noted. Besides the material collected in Calcutta, eight female M. rhesus were kept by me for three to fifteen months in Cambridge, in a building heated with hot water pipes during the winter, and the menstruation of these animals was noted at various times ; the climate, however, appeared to alfect their health, and the results obtained cannot be considered satisfactory. Ayiatomy of the Cervix. With the exception of the cervix, the anatomy of the generative organs of M. rhesus is very similar to that described for Semnopithecus entellus in Part 1. of this paper. The cervix, however, is different. In S. entellus the cervix is a narrow straight canal with thick muscular walls. In M. rhesus a fold is formed on the anterior (ventral) wall, which projects across the lumen of the canal of the cervix and fits into a recess between two similar folds formed on the opposite wall, the whole constituting, as it were, a valve between the interna and external os uteri (figs. 3 and 4). The canal at this intermediate point is thus rendered very narrow and convoluted; from the valve to the external os it widens out somewhat laterally and ends as a small slit on a papilla projecting into the vagina, while from the valve to the internal os it also becomes enlarged and enters the uterus by a wide mouth. The wider portions of the cervix canal have longitudinally folded walls, but in the intermediate valvular portion the folds are not present. The position of the internal os is readily determined ; the folded walls of the mouth of the cervix end abruptly at the point where the uterine cavity begins, and histo- logical examination shows a distinct difference between the two parts ; further, the various changes, which are so marked in the uterine mucosa during menstruation, do not extend to this portion of the generative canal. The valvular structure is not confined to virgins ; it is present in a specimen in my possession which has borne young, it is therefore a permanent structure.
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