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GLOSSARY.
- Abortion. The expulsion of the fetus before the end of the third lunar month.
- Afferent Nerves. Those nerves which convey the impressions to the nerve-centers.
- After-pains. The pains which follow labor and which are caused by the contractions of the uterus.
- Amenorrhea. Absence of the menstrual flow.
- Anemia. The so-called thinness of the blood, due to a deficiency of red blood-corpuscles.
- Antisepsis. The use of chemical substances which have the power of destroying germs.
- Anus. The external circular outlet of the rectum or distal part of the large intestine.
- Appendages, Uterine. The Fallopian tubes, the ligaments of the uterus, and the ovaries.
- Atrophy. A progressive diminution in the bulk of an organ or tissue.
- Automatic. Involuntary, mechanical.
- Bulbi Vestibuli. A plexus of veins on each side of the vestibule.
- Capillaries. The terminal and very finest branches of the blood-vessels.
- Catamenial Flow. See Menstruation.
- Cellular Tissue. A loose, transparent tissue which surrounds the muscles and organs of the body.
- Cerebrum. The upper and larger portion of the brain.
- Chlorosis. Anemia of young women about the time of puberty.
- Climacteric. See Menopause.
- Clitoris. A small, elongated, erectile organ situated at the upper part of the vulva.
- Cohabitation. See Coitus.
- Coition. See Coitus.
- Coitus. Syn., coition, copulation, cohabitation, sexual congress, sexual intercourse.
The carnal union of the sexes.188
- Colostrum. A thin albuminous fluid which appears in the breasts at the fourth month of pregnancy.
- Conception, or impregnation, is the union of the germ and sperm cell which results in a new being.
- Confinement. Childbed, the expulsion of the child from the womb.
- Congestion. The abnormal accumulation of blood in a part.
- Constipation. Costiveness; a state in which there is not a free daily evacuation of the bowels, or where the evacuations are hard or expelled with difficulty.
- Continence. Abstinence from or moderation in sexual indulgence.
- Copulation. See Coitus.
- Cord, Umbilical. The cord which connects the fetus with the mother. Through the blood-vessels contained in this cord the child receives nourishment.
- Corpuscle. A very small particle.
- Decidua. A membranous sac formed in the uterus during gestation, and thrown off after parturition.
- Defecation. The act by which the contents of the bowel are expelled from the body.
- Dehiscence. The splitting open of an organ.
- Dentition. The cutting of the teeth.
- Dysmenorrhea. Painful and difficult menstruation.
- Dystocia. A difficult labor.
- Embryo. The name applied to the very earliest stages of the child in utero; that is, up to about the time of quickening.
- Endometrium. The lining membrane of the uterus.
- Epithelium. A layer of minute cells which forms the covering of many membranes.
- Erection. The state of a part which, having been soft, becomes rigid and elevated by the accumulation of blood within its tissues.
- Fallopian Tubes. Two very small tubes extending from the upper angles of the uterus to the ovaries and serving to convey the ova from the ovaries to the uterus.
- Feces. Stools; the normal discharge from the bowels.
- Fetus. The child in utero from the time of quickening to that of birth.
- Fomentations. The application of cloths which have previously been dipped in hot water.
- Function. An action of an organ which could be performed only by that organ, and which is necessary to the well-being of the individual.
- Generative Organs. Syn., genital, reproductive, sexual; those organs in the male and female by means of which a new being is created.
- Genital. See Generative.
- Gestation. See pregnancy.
- Gonorrhea. A highly contagious venereal disease, characterized by an inflammatory discharge of mucus from the urethra and prepuce in the male, and from the urethra and the vagina in the female.
- Graafian Follicles. Minute ovarian vesicles which contain the ova.
- Hemorrhoids. Piles or tumors at or within the anus, and consisting of enlarged veins.
- Hymen. The semilunar fold situated at the outer orifice of the vagina in the virgin.
- Hypertrophy. The increased activity of a part which leads to an increase in its bulk.
- Hypochondriasis. Morbid feelings concerning the health and simulating disease.
- Impregnation. See Conception.
- Infectious. See Contagious.
- Katabolic Nerves are those nerves which stimulate the breaking down of tissue.
- Labia Majora. Two thick folds of skin which extend backward from the mons veneris.
- Labia Minora. Nymphae; two very delicate folds of skin which are inside of and protected by the labia majora.
- Labor. See Parturition.
- Lactation. The secretion of milk; nursing, suckling the child.
- Lactiferous Ducts. The milk ducts.
- Leucorrhea. Whites; a whitish or yellowish discharge from the vagina.
- Lochia. A discharge which follows labor and which lasts for about two weeks.
- Lying-in. The period which follows childbed.
- Lymphatics. The vessels in
which the lymph is carried.190
- Mammae. The mammary glands; the breasts.
- Marital Relations. See Coitus.
- Massage. A systematic kneading of the muscles.
- Meatus Urinarius. The external orifice of the urethra.
- Meconium. The first discharge from the infant's bowel after birth, and which had collected in the intestines during the pregnancy.
- Medulla. The base of the brain at its junction with the spinal cord.
- Menopause. Climacteric, change of life, the time of the natural cessation of the monthly sickness.
- Menorrhagia. An excessive menstrual flow.
- Menstruation. Menstrual period, menstrual flow, menses, monthly sickness, the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus, which, with certain exceptions, recurs monthly from about the age of thirteen to forty-six years.
- Metabolism. Transformation changes.
- Metamorphoses. Changes of shape or structure.
- Metrorrhagia. A flow of blood between the menstrual periods.
- Micturition. The act of passing water.
- Miscarriage. The expulsion of the fetus between the twelfth and twenty-eighth weeks.
- Molecular. Belonging to the molecules, or the minutest portion of anything.
- Mons Veneris. The uppermost part of the vulva, which is a fatty cushion covered with hair.
- Nerve-center. A nerve station from which orders are transmitted and where orders are received.
- Nubile. Puberty, that period of life in which young people of both sexes are capable of procreating children.
- Nymphae. See Labia minora.
- Ovaries. Two small ovoid bodies, one on each side of the uterus, in which the ova are formed.
- Oviduct. See Fallopian tobe.
- Ovulation. The formation of the ova in the ovary, and the discharge of the same.
- Ovule. See Ovum.
- Ovum. Germ cell, a small, round vesicle situated in the ovaries, and which, when fecundated, constitutes the rudiments of the embryo.
- Parturition. Labor, delivery, child-birth, the expulsion of the child from the womb.
- Pathologic. Relating to the diseased condition of tie body.
- Pelvis. The bony cavity situated at the lower end of the spinal column and supported by the thighs.
- Periodicity. The recurrence of physiologic phenomena at regular intervals.
- Periphery. The circumference of an organ.
- Peristaltic Action. An alternate contraction, making small, and enlargement of the bowel; it is by this means that foods, etc., are forced along its passage.
- Peritoneum. A serous membrane which lines the abdominal cavity, and wholly or in part envelopes the organs contained in it; it also partly covers the organs contained in the pelvic cavity.
- Phenomena. Remarkable appearances.
- Physical. Pertaining to the body.
- Placenta. After-birth, a soft, spongy, vascular body adherent to the uterus, and which is connected with the embryo through the umbilical cord.
- Plethora. A condition marked by a superabundance of blood.
- Postpartum Hemorrhage. Hemorrhage following labor.
- Pregnant. Enceinte, gravid; the state of a woman who is with child.
- Premature Labor. The expulsion of the fetus between the end of the twenty-eighth week and the time that labor ought to have occurred.
- Propagation. The spreading or extension of a thing.
- Pruritus Vulva. An intense itching of the privates, or vulva.
- Psychic. Pertaining or belonging to the mind.
- Puberty. Sexual maturity; nubility; that period of life in which young people of both sexes are capable of procreating children.
- Pubes or Pubis. The lowest and middle part of the pelvis in its anterior surface.
- Puerperium. The lying-in after child-birth.
- Quickening. The sensation experienced by the mother as the result of active fetal movements in the womb.
- Rectum. The lower extremity of the large intestine.
- Reflex. The reflection of an impulse from a nerve-center which has been received from elsewhere by that center.
- Reproduction. See Generative.
- Respiration. Breathing.
- Rugs. Wrinkles.
- Rut. The copulation of animals.
- Septicemia, Puerperal. Childbed fever.
- Sexual. That which relates to sex. See Generative.
- Smegma. A cheesy substance which may collect about the vulva.
- Spermatozoa. The essential male fertilizing elements.
- Sympathetic Nervous System. Presides over involuntary acts; as digestion, breathing, etc.
- Syphilis. A venereal disease which is highly contagious by coition, contact with the lips, etc.
- Tachycardia. Distress in the region of the heart, with palpitation and shortness of breath.
- Umbilicus. Navel.
- Urea. The most important of the solid constituents of the urine.
- Ureters. The ducts leading from the kidneys to the bladder.
- Urethra. The excretory duct from the bladder for the escape of the urine.
- Urination. The act of passing water.
- Uterosacral Ligaments. Ligaments which pass from the uterus to the sacrum, and assist in holding the uterus in position.
- Uterus. Womb; the hollow, pear-shaped pelvic organ which is destined to retain the child from the moment of its conception until the time of its expulsion at birth.
- Utricular Glands. Glands of the uterus.
- Vagina. The canal which connects the female internal and external organs of generation.
- Vascular. Pertaining to the blood-vessels.
- Vasomotor Nervous System. Comprises the brain, spinal cord, and the nerves given off from the cord: this system presides over voluntary acts, that is, those acts which are under the control of the will.
- Vestibule. A smooth cavity that exists in the female
between the perineum and the nymphae.193
- Viscera. The contents of the large cavities of the body.
- Vulva. The external genitals, private parts, the female external organs of generation.
- Vulvitis. Inflammation of the vulva.
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