Gynæcology for nurses and gynæcological nursing : including the subjects enumerated, under "gynæcology and obstetrics", in the "syllabus of lectures and demonstrations for education and training in general nursing" issued by the General Nursing Council / by Comyns Berkeley.

  • Berkeley, Comyns, Sir, 1865-1946
Date:
1943
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Gynæcology for nurses and gynæcological nursing : including the subjects enumerated, under "gynæcology and obstetrics", in the "syllabus of lectures and demonstrations for education and training in general nursing" issued by the General Nursing Council / by Comyns Berkeley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The Uterus. The uterus, which is composed of two parts, the body and neck, is a hollow, pear-shaped organ, 2J inches long, 2 inches broad, and ^ an inch thick. It is composed chiefly of muscle. Its inside is lined with ciliated mucous membrane termed the endometrium, which is a glandular structure and is mostly shed every month, being then renewed to prepare it for the implantation of the zygote (the fertilized oocyte). The outside is covered by a shiny membrane termed peri¬ toneum, which extends down the back of the uterus lower than in front. The cavity of the uterus contains four openings, two at the junctions of the fundus, where the uterine ends of the Fallopian tubes open, and two below, the internal and external os. Body {corpus).—Its cavity, which is normally closed, is triangular in shape, inches long in the virgin, and some¬ what longer in a woman who has given birth to a child. That part of the uterus above the insertion of the Fallopian tubes is termed the fundus. In its correct position the body of the uterus looks forward. Neck (cervix).—Is that portion of the uterus between the level of the internal os and the external, the latter opening into the vagina. It consists chiefly of muscle, and is i inch long. Its canal is lined with ciliated mucous membrane, and that part of the cervix projecting through the pelvic floor into the vagina is covered with stratified epithelium, minus its horny layer. With the uterus in its normal position, the cervix points downwards and backwards. Blood Supply.—There are four arteries, two on each side. The uterine artery arises from the internal iliac artery, one branch of which passes up by the side of the body of the uterus to supply it and to anastomose with the ovarian artery. The uterine arteries as they pass up alongside of the body are coiled to allow of their being stretched as the pregnant uterus enlarges. The branches entering the muscle of the uterus are also coiled, which enables the contraction and retraction of the uterus to clamp them, as it were, which prevents post-partum haemorrhage during a normal 3rd stage of labour.