Ectopic pregnancy; its etiology, classification, embryology, diagnosis and treatment.

  • Webster, John Clarence, 1863-1950.
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Ectopic pregnancy; its etiology, classification, embryology, diagnosis and treatment. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    power of the trophoblast or outer layers of the foetal epiblast is an important factor in bringing about its disappearance. My recent studies in early tubal pregnancy lead me to believe that this is also accomplished partly by another agency, viz., the rapid changes in the connective tissue of the mucosa leading to the formation of the decidua vera, causing the covering epithelium to be stretched and broken up. Eegarding the exact nature and significance of menstruation we are still ignorant. The opinion of Hirsch,^ Slavianski,^ Eeeves Jackson,^ Lawson Tait,* and others, that ovulation and menstruation are entirely independent of one another, can scarcely be disputed. The recent work of Heape^ is confirmatory of this belief; he examined the genitals of Scmnopithecus entellns in forty-two cases of menstruation, and found that only in two was there any evidence of a discharge of ova from the ovaries. It seems certain that ovulation does not necessarily take place during menstruation, and that menstruation is not due to ovulation. The views of Leopold and Mironoff,*^ who have lately worked at this subject, are as follows:— Ovulation usually accompanies menstruation, though not always. Menstruation depends upon the presence of the ovaries and a well-formed uterine mucosa. Ovulation usually coincides with menstruation; it rarely occurs in normal condi- tions between the menstrual periods. There is considerable evidence in favour of the view that the menstrual function is connected with a special nervous mechanism. Christopher Martin, in his recent paper on this subject, thinks that there is reason to believe:— ^ Schmidt's Jahrb., Leipzig, 1850. Arch, de physiol. norm, et path., Paris, 1874. 3 Am. Journ. ObsL, N.Y., Oct. 1876. ^ Op. cit., p. 300 ct seq. ^ Proc. Roy. Soc. London., vol. liv., p. 169. ^ Arch. f. Gynaek., Berlin, bd. xlv., hft. 3. ^ The Nerve Theory of Menstruation, 3Ied. Press and Circ, London, 1893, vol. Ivi., p. 420.