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 operation for cutting away the whole or part of the Fallopian tube. It corresponds to vasectomy (excision of a portion of the vas deferens), in the male.

The Uterus. The uterus (Latin) or womb (Anglo Saxon) is a pear-shaped muscular organ, with the small end down-ward, situated in the middle of the pelvis. It is about three inches long, two inches wide and one inch thick, and weighs from one ounce to an ounce and a half.

The muscular walls of the uterus are thick and the cavity is comparatively small. It contains three openings—two from the Fallopian tubes, one on each of the two upper corners, and one in the lower end, being the mouth (os) of the womb, opening into the vagina.

The uterus is not firmly attached to any of the bony parts of the pelvic cavity. It is suspended in its position by a number of muscles and ligaments. It therefore slightly changes its position with different movements of the body, and during gestation increases in size to accommodate the new being growing within it, and gradually rises out of the pelvic cavity, as more space is required for growth, into the abdominal region.

Its normal position is inclined forward, resting against the bladder. A full bladder will push it backward and downward. The stretching of the sustaining ligaments, through lifting heavy weights, or excessive physical labor, may cause the uterus to sink down into the vagina—a condition known as prolapse, or falling of the womb. There are a number of other more or less common displacements of the womb, when the organ becomes flexed or bent in one of several directions. These conditions will be referred to in Chapter XI.

The upper and larger portion of the uterus is called the body, or fundus; the lower and smaller part is called the neck