The Four Epochs of Woman's Life Part 15

Confinement. Childbed, the expulsion of the child from the womb.

Congestion. The abnormal acc.u.mulation 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 s.e.xual 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.

Dent.i.tion. 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 acc.u.mulation 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, s.e.xual; 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 v.a.g.i.n.a in the female.

Graafian Follicles. Minute ovarian vesicles which contain the ova.

Hemorrhoids. Piles or tumors at or within the a.n.u.s, and consisting of enlarged veins.

Hymen. The semilunar fold situated at the outer orifice of the v.a.g.i.n.a 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.

l.a.b.i.a Majora. Two thick folds of skin which extend backward from the mons veneris.

l.a.b.i.a Minora. Nymphae; two very delicate folds of skin which are inside of and protected by the l.a.b.i.a 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 v.a.g.i.n.a.

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.

Mammae. The mammary glands; the b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Marital Relations. See Coitus.

Ma.s.sage. 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 pa.s.sing 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 v.u.l.v.a, which is a fatty cus.h.i.+on covered with hair.

Nerve-center. A nerve station from which orders are transmitted and where orders are received.

Nubile. p.u.b.erty, that period of life in which young people of both s.e.xes are capable of procreating children.

Nymphae. See l.a.b.i.a 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, const.i.tutes 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 circ.u.mference 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 pa.s.sage.

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 v.u.l.v.a. An intense itching of the privates, or v.u.l.v.a.

Psychic. Pertaining or belonging to the mind.

p.u.b.erty. s.e.xual maturity; nubility; that period of life in which young people of both s.e.xes are capable of procreating children.

p.u.b.es or Pubis. The lowest and middle part of the pelvis in its anterior surface.

Puerperium. The lying-in after child-birth.