Uterus

Uterus. The uterus or womb is in the unimpregnated state a pear-shaped body, about three inches long, consisting of an expanded upper part, the fundus, about two inches in breadth, the body of the uterus, about one inch in breadth, and the somewhat constricted cervix, or neck, where the uterus is attached to the vagina. The cavity of the uterus communicates below by means of the os uteri with the cavity of the vagina, and on either side of the fundus it has opening into it the canals of the Fallopian tubes. The various diseases to which the uterus is liable form a part of the subject-matter of the science of gynaecology. It may here be noted that the uterus is occasionally affected by displacement, that its structures may be involved in the inflammatory processes, and that certain tumours may be developed in connection with it. Of the last-named the most important are the growths of fibrous and muscular tussue, known as "uterine fibroids," and certain forms of malignant disease.