The ovary is held in position by the =broad ligament= of the uterus, a fold of the peritoneum, which passes here from the uterine tube to the adjacent body wall. The ovary lies in a sort of a pocket formed by the broad ligament. In the natural position the pocket opens ventrolaterad. The ovary is further held in position by the ligament of the ovary (=ligamentum ovarii=), a short thick cord which passes from the ventral face of the ovary at its uterine end to the adjacent ventral surface of the uterus.
_The Uterine Tubes_ (_e_).--The uterine (or Fallopian) tubes or oviducts are the tubes which convey the ova from the ovary (_c_) to the uterus (_f_). Each begins with an expanded trumpet-shaped opening, the =ostium tubæ abdominale= (_d_). Its walls are thin, and the mucosa of its inner surface is thrown up into undulating, radiating ridges.
The ostium (_d_) lies on the lateral side of the ovary (_c_) at its cranial end, and the trumpet partly clasps the ovary. From the ostium the tube (_e_) turns craniad, then mediad, and then caudad, so as to describe a curve about the cranial end of the ovary. It then extends caudad on the mediodorsal aspect of the ovary to its junction with the uterine cornu (_f_). It is sinuous throughout its course, and the first two-thirds (the =vestibulum=) is of considerably greater diameter than the last third. Throughout the last two-thirds of its course it lies in the free border of the broad ligament. Its mucosa is thrown into irregular folds, mostly longitudinal, and is lined by ciliated epithelium. From the foregoing description it is seen that the ova must pass through the body cavity in order to reach the ostium tubæ.
[Illustration: FIG. 112.--FEMALE UROGENITAL ORGANS, OBLIQUELY VENTRAL VIEW.
_a_, kidney; _b_, ureter; _c_, ovary; _d_, ostium tubæ abdominale; _e_, uterine (Fallopian) tube; _f_, cornua of the uterus; _g_, cranial edge of broad ligament; _h_, round ligament of the uterus; _i_, body of the uterus; _j_, bladder; _k_, neck of the bladder; _l_, position of cervix uteri; _m_, vagina; _n_, urogenital sinus or vestibule, with M. urethralis; _o_, corpus cavernosum clitoridis, with M. ischiocavernosus (cut); _p_, fibres of M. constrictor vestibuli. 1, aorta; 2, internal spermatic arteries; 3, uterine arteries; 4, external iliac arteries; 5, hypogastric arteries; 6, umbilical artery; 7, inferior hemorrhoidal artery; 8, branches of N. pudendus.]