Page images
PDF
EPUB

and frequently depression of spirits. The pulse, too, may rise considerably. This flow may last from a day or two to a week or two, varying in quantity. The surgeon will sometimes direct the use of vaginal douches of boracic acid or bichloride solution-once or twice daily-usually after the flow has ceased.

for rest.

The patient must always be advised to keep very Necessity quiet during the first three or four periods after an abdominal section, particularly for disease of the pelvic organs, as there may be hemorrhage from the stump.

External

and internal

genitalia.

Mons veneris.

Labia

majora.

Nymphæ.

Clitoris.

Vestibule.

Meatus

CHAPTER XIII.

THE PELVIC ORGANS IN WOMEN.

These are divided into the external and internal organs of generation. The external organs are also called the "pudenda" or "vulva."

Immediately above the pubic bone, or anterior border of the pelvis, is a cushion of fat, usually covered with hair. This is called the "mons veneris."

On each side of the opening of the vulva are the labia majora, or large lips. Lying beneath these and concealed by them in young women, are two thin folds of flesh, named the "labia minora" or "nymphæ." They join together above, and at their junction is a small projecting body called the "clitoris."

The small triangular space between the clitoris and the nymphæ is the vestibule.

The opening of the urethra (the “meatus urinaurinarius. rius"), through which the urine escapes from the bladder, is in the middle of the lower border of the vestibule.

It is very important that the nurse should know

the exact position of the meatus urinarius, as she will frequently be called upon to pass the catheter. Below the vestibule is the orifice of the vagina, Vagina

[merged small][graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed]

1. The right large lip. 2. The fourchette. 3. Right nympha. 4. Clitoris. 5. Urethral orifice. 6. Vestibule. 7. Orifice of vagina. 8. Hymen. 10. Mons veneris. II. Anal orifice.

the canal leading to the uterus or womb. In virgins a delicate membrane, usually crescentic in shape, blocks the entrance to the vagina.

Hymen.

Carunculæ myrtiformes.

The hymen is usually ruptured at marriage, but a woman may be a virgin, yet have no hymen. In some cases it persists even after marriage and offers an obstruction at childbirth. A woman who has borne children has a few fleshy projections at the orifice of the vagina, the only remains of the hymen, called the "carunculæ myrtiformes." Between the vulva and the anus is a mass of flesh, the space on the surface measuring 11⁄2 inches in length. During the birth of the child this becomes greatly distended, and thins like rubber. This is Perineum. the perineum. It may be torn during labor to a greater or less extent; sometimes it is completely torn into the bowel.

That part of the perineum in the virgin which forms the posterior border of the vulvæ, is called Fourchette. the "fourchette." It is merely a fold of skin, and is almost always torn in a first labor.

Anal orifice.

Vagina.

Uterus.

Behind the perineum is the anus, or orifice of the rectum-the lower part of the bowel.

The vagina is a canal connecting the external with the internal organs of generation.

The uterus is at the top of the vagina. In front of the uterus is the bladder, and behind and to the left, the rectum.

A secretion of mucus keeps the vagina moist. There should, however, be no discharge in a perfectly healthy woman. During pregnancy, and as

a result of ill health or local inflammation, the natural secretion may be greatly increased, and the patient is then said to have "the whites."

In labor the discharge is very greatly increased, so as to aid the birth of the child.

The uterus is a pear-shaped organ, 3 inches in length, 11⁄2 inches in breadth, and about 1 inch in

[merged small][graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][ocr errors][merged small]

B. Cavity of the
D. Canal of the

A. Superior border or fundus of the womb.
womb. C. Cavity of the neck of the womb.
Fallopian tube. E. The fimbriated extremity. F, F. The ovaries.
G. The cavity of the vagina.

thickness. It weighs a little over an ounce in its normal condition in a virgin. After child-bearing it remains larger and heavier than before. That portion of the uterus which communicates with the vagina is called the neck, or cervix. The chief Cervix. tion of the organ above this is called the body', and

por

« PreviousContinue »