A treatise on the science and practice of midwifery / By W. S. Playfair.
- William Smoult Playfair
- Date:
- 1885
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A treatise on the science and practice of midwifery / By W. S. Playfair. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.
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![V!1 Regional Divisions.—For the purpose of description the uterus is con- veniently divided into the fundus, with its rounded upper extremity, situated between the insertions of the Fallopian tubes; the body, which is bounded above by the insertions of the Fallopian tubes and below by the upper extremity of the cervix, and which is the part chiefly con- FlG, uterus and Appendages in an Infant. (After Farre. cerned in the reception and gro^^i:h of the ovum; and the mruc, which projects into the vagina, and dilates during labor to give passage to the child. The cervix is conical in shape, measuring 11 to 12 lines trans- versely at the base, and 6 or 7 in the antero-posterior direction; while at the apex it measures. 7 to 8 transversely, and 5 antero-posteriorly. It projects about 4 lines into the canal of the vagina, the remainder of the cervix being placed above the reflexion of the vaginal mucous membrane. It varies much in foi^m in the virgin and nulliparous married woman and in the woman ^x\\o has borne children; and the differences are of importance in the diagnosis of pregnancy and uterine disease. In the virgin it is regularly ]jyramidal iii..£lmx)e. At its lower extremity is the opening of the external os uteri, forming a small trans- verse fissure, sometimes difficult to feel, and generally described as giving a sensation to the examining finger like the extremity of the cartilage at the tip of the nose. It is bounded by two lips, the anterior of which is apparently larger on account of the position of the uterus. The surface of the cervix and the borders of the os are very smooth and regular. Changes after Childbirth.—In women who have borne children these parts become considerably altered. The cervix is no longer conical, but is irregular in form and shortened. The lips of the os uteri become fissured and lobulated, on account of partial lacerations \vBich have occurred during labor. The os is larger and more irregular in outline, and is sometimes sufficiently patulous to admit the tip of the finger. In old age the cervix atrophies, and after the change of life it not uncom-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2121072x_0066.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
