Chapter V: HE ought, in fine, to handle Her decently, and treat her

_gently_; considering _Her_ as the _weaker Vessel_, whose elegant tender BODY, will admit of no _rough Usage_: Wherefore upon this Account it is, that I would have all _Practitioners_ whatsoever in this ART, debarr’d from the _Use_ of _INSTRUMENTS_, which would secure many a MOTHER from being wounded or mangled, and many an INFANT from being cut or torn to Pieces.

NOT that I would be thought for all that to imitate Mr. _Mauriceau_, saying of himself (in some Passages of his _Book_ of _MIDWIFERY_) that _he differs from all others_: No, far from it; For I have the _Indisputable Authority_ of the most Learned and Polite _Practisers_ on my side, as mention’d before in _Chap._ 1. of this _SECTION_.

HOWEVER yet, I do not deny, but that _INSTRUMENTS_ have been universally used, till of late Years; but the reason of That is Plain: Because in former Times, MEN were only call’d upon _extraordinary Occasions_; some of which (however Skilful and Ingenious) had not the Opportunity of _Laying a Woman_ perhaps in many Months. For which Reason it could not be otherways, but that they must have been at a loss in not understanding thoroughly the _Practical Part_, having so few Opportunities of improving _manual Operation_: Whereas since the _Politer Part_ of the World has call’d them generally to the ordinary and common _Practice_ of this _ART_; they have advanced their _Dexterity_ by degrees, and are now come to the length of discharging that _Office_ by _Slight of Hand_ only, which formerly required so many _frightful INSTRUMENTS_.

I may well indeed say _frightful_; for what can be more inconsistent with the tender _NATURE_ of _Women_, or more _terrible_ to them, than to see MEN come _armed_ against _Themselves_ and their _tenderer INFANTS_, with _Knives_, _Hooks_, _Iron-Forceps_, &c. thereby (as it were) to _help_ them in time of their extremest _Agony_? For my part, I am Positive, that let who will use _INSTRUMENTS_, they _kill_ many more _INFANTS_ than they _save_, and _ruin_ many more _WOMEN_ than they _deliver_ fairly: And this, I think, will be easily agreed to, by all those who have any Knowledge of the _Parts_ of _Generation_ in that SEX; as (I believe) it is also sufficiently evident even to _Those_ who have no _Judgment_ that way, by the notorious _Fatalities_ and tragical _Events_ they daily hear of in Fact.

HOWEVER I know, some _Chirurgeon-Practitioners_ are too much acquainted with the _Use_ of _INSTRUMENTS_, to lay them aside; no, they do not (it may be) think themselves in their _Duty_, or proper _Office_, if they have not their cruel _Accoutrements_ in Hand: And what is most unaccountable and unbecoming a _Christian_, is that, when they have perhaps wounded the _MOTHER_, kill’d the _INFANT_, and with violent _Torture_ and inexpressible _Pain_, drawn it out by _Piece-meal_, they think no _Reward_ sufficient for such an extraordinary Piece of mangled Work.

BUT, in short, I would advise such to practise _Butchery_ rather than _MIDWIFERY_; for in _that Case_, they could _sell_ what they _slay_; but in _this_, by _handling_ MAN so, they only bring _Infamy_ upon their _Profession_, and expose it to the _Contempt_ and _Hatred_ of OTHERS.

COVETOUSNESS is the blackest of _Vices_, and in this _Case_ (I am sure) it is an unpardonable SIN, to thirst after sordid _Lucre_ for procuring the _Health_ or preserving the _Life_ of our Neighbour; as, I doubt, is but too common among some mercenary People: Who (as we have been creditably inform’d) have refus’d to take _Women_ in Hand at the very Point of Extremity or Time of Need, before a certain SUM of _Money_ was first deposited; tho’ perhaps borrow’d upon _Pledge_, or collected amongst their charitable _Neighbours_ for GOD’Ssake.

I do not say however, but that the _Workman_ is worthy of his _Reward_, and _That_ which ought to be paid according to the _Merit_ and _Dignity_ of his Performance; not according to the _Time_ he spends about it, as hired _Labourers_ are paid their WAGES: No, that fruitless _Labour_ would not be worth while; no _Gentleman_ would undertake MIDWIFERY upon such unprofitable _Terms_: For as it is in his Power to save the _Life_ of the MOTHER, or the INFANT, or _Both_, (which he often does effectually) _He_ undoubtedly deserves an extraordinary _Recompence_ worthy of so great and good a PIECE of SERVICE.

BUT notwithstanding all This, an extravagant _Price_ is not to be arbitrarily demanded, nor ought the Reward to exceed the _Ability_ of the _PATIENT_; neither are _Those_ to be forsaken or left destitute of _Help_, and expos’d to imminent _Danger_, at all Hazards of _Life_, who cannot afford us MONEY: But rather (on the contrary) they are to be forthwith taken in Hand chearfully, attended by Night or Day diligently, and a trifle of MONEY _given_ (by us) rather than _taken_ from them, when our _Fellow-Christian_’s Circumstances so require it. For _this_ is the right way to secure GOD’S _Blessing_ to _Ourselves_, and _Success_ to all our _Endeavours_.

AND, in short, I humbly pray, that HE may (out of his infinite _Goodness_ and _Mercy_) always enable ME, according to my best Inclinations, faithfully to perform these good _Offices_, which I know to be so much my indispensible and incumbent _Duty_, in that _STATION_, his All-wise _Providence_ hath allotted me, as to the Affairs of LIFE.

WHENCE I come, in the next Place, by due Order, to treat particularly of the _Contents_ of the preceding _Chapter_; and, _First_, to set forth an _Anatomical Description_ of the several PARTS of _Generation_ in manner following.

CHAP. V.
_Of the External Parts of GENERATION._

THESE _Parts_ are generally so well known, that I would not so much as mention them, out of _Modesty_, were it not, that, I presume, the _young MIDWIFE_ may find something in the ensuing _Description_ worth her singular _Notice_; which however, I shall not so much insist upon: But succinctly——

BEGINNING with the _First_, call’d the VULVA or PUDENDUM; we find it situated below the OS PUBIS, having a great _Chink_ or _Fissure_ in the _Middle_, as it has the FRÆNULUM and PERINÆUM in the _lower Part_. And above the _Chink_ there is a little _Protuberance_ occasioned by _Fat_ under the Skin, call’d MONS VENERIS.

THE two LABIA VULVÆ being a little separated, the NYMPHÆ appear, join’d one to each interior Side of them: _They_ are two small Pieces of red _Membranous Flesh_, much resembling _Pullet’s Gills_: _They_ encrease the Pleasure of _Copulation_, and direct the Course of the _Urine_.

IN the upper Part of the _Chink_, next to the OS PUBIS, are several little round _Substances_; which the most ingenious _Fallopius_ call’d the CLITORIS, almost hid under the _Skin_ denominated the PRÆPUTIUM.

A little deeper, or straight below the CLITORIS, is the URETHRA, or _Orifice_ of the Neck of the Bladder; being a little _Hole_ as big as a _Goose-Quill_; which discovers itself by a small Eminence, and is about two _Inches long_.

BETWIXT the _Muscle_, call’d SPHINCTER URETHRÆ, and the inner _Membrane_ of the VAGINA, are several small _Glands_; whose excretory _Ducts_ are the _Holes_ observable about the _URETHRA_, call’d[153]_LACUNÆ GRAFFI_; which discharge a _Liquor_ for lubricating or making the VAGINA slippery, and encreasing the _Venereal Titillation_.

IN the _Orifice_ of the VAGINA, there is a slender subtile _Membrane_ situated a-cross, which is call’d the HYMEN, of a different _Form_ in different _Women_; being sometimes _Annular_, and sometimes _Semilunar_: It is almost always to be found in _young Girls_, having a small _Hole_ into the VAGINA; which _Hole_ in ADULTS is somewhat larger. In the first _Act_ of _COPULATION_ this _Membrane_ is torn, which generally occasions an Effusion of a little _Blood_; but this may also happen by many other _Procatarctick Causes_[154], and accidental Occasions.

THE _GLANDULÆ_ or _CARUNCULÆ Myrtiformes_ are constituted of the contracted _Fibres_ of the dilacerated _HYMEN_; and are situated on the Side opposite to the _URETHRA_, next the _ANUS_, in the _FOSSA Magna_, or _Navicularis_; being the same Place where the _HYMEN_ was at first established. _These_ are small fleshy _Eminences_, and are sometimes _Two_ or _Three_, and sometimes _Four_ or _Five_ in Number: _They_ are deficient in _GIRLS_, and _defaced_ in _those WOMEN_ who have had _CHILDREN_.

THE _VAGINA_ or _Neck_ of the WOMB, is a long and round _Canal_, reaching from these _Caruncles_ to the _Orifice_ of the WOMB; not very unlike a _strong small Gut_: Its _Orifice_ is narrow in _Virgins_, and in _All_ Women much narrower than its _other_ Parts: It’s _Substance_ (according to _Ruysche_’s Observations) is _membranous_, _nervous_, _papillary_, and _wrinkled_ WITHIN; which consequently must be of an _exquisitive_ SENSE: In _Virgins_ the _WRINKLES_ are very _Large_, especially in the _Fore-Part_; but after frequent _Embraces_ they are _Less_, and after repeated _BIRTHS_, they entirely _disappear_.

THE _VAGINA_ lies betwixt the _Bladder_ and the _strait Gut_, or RECTUM; with which last it is wrapt up in the same common _Membrane_, from the _PERITONÆUM_, adhering to it, all its _Length upwards_, from its _Orifice_ to that of the WOMB, and quite round on the _lower Side_, as it does to the Neck of the _BLADDER_ _above_.

IN MAIDS, the _VAGINA_ is about Five Inches _Long_, and one and a half _Wide_: But in _CHILD-BEARING-WOMEN_, it cannot be determin’d; because it _lengthens_ in the time of _PREGNANCY_, and _dilates_ in time of _BIRTH_; having likewise (in all) some little _Holes_ or _Ducts_ in it, which discharge a _mucous Liquor_. The _VAGINA_ Serves also, in fine, for a necessary _Conduit_ to the _MENSTRUA_ and _LOCHIA_, as it does for a proper _Passage_ to the _INFANT_, &c.

THESE are, in short, all the _external Parts_ of _GENERATION_ in _Women_; and _these_ have all their proper respective _Functions_ assign’d them by NATURE; contributing conjunctly and severally to the _Charms_ of _COPULATION_: Which _ACTION_ alters the very _Course_ of the BLOOD, and _Motion_ of the _Animal SPIRITS_; and consequently sets all the describ’d _Parts_ in full _AGITATION_. Namely, thus

THE LABIA dilate: the ORIFICE swells: the NYMPHÆ give way: the CLITORIS (of exquisite Sensibility) erects: The GLANDS (by a _Protuberancy_ of the Parts) yield their _succous Contents_: The VAGINA draws close: The _Fibres_ of the WOMB complicate to open its _Orifice_: The _Branches_ of the _Spermatick_ ARTERY contract to draw the Extremities of the _Tubes_ to the _OVARIA_, as they carry the SEED to them: The SEED circulating in the _Veins_, which open in the _Cavity_ of the _VAGINA_ and _MATRIX_, it ferments immediately with the _Mass of Blood_: This _Fermentation_ swells the _Membranes_ of the TUBES, opens the _Cavity_ of the WOMB, and disposes _All_ perfectly for the right Reception of the _impregnated_ EGG.

FROM hence we may plainly see, in what a miraculous _Order_ and _Manner_, all _These Parts_ minister, and are subservient unto that (yet more) admirable and wonderful _Body_ the WOMB. Which being thus in brief _anatomically_ described, I come next in Course to

CHAP. VI.
_Of the Internal Parts of GENERATION._

IN discoursing of _These_, I shall begin with the chief _Part_, to which the rest are but _Subservients_.

_FIRST_ then, the _MATRIX_ or _Womb_, is situated in the upper Part of the Cavity of the _PELVIS_, or _Bason_, between the _Bladder_ and _Streight Gut_. It is placed there in the Middle of the _HYPOGASTRIUM_, for the Convenience of COPULATION, and the more easy and ready _Extrusion_ of the INFANT.

_SECONDLY_, The _Bones_ of the _PELVIS_ (as described hereafter below) stand as a _Rampart_, fencing it against all external _Injuries_; That is to say, the _OS PUBIS_ protects it _before_; the _SACRUM behind_; and the _ILIUM_ on _each Side_: Like as the _BLADDER_ and _RECTUM_ on the other Hand defend this Noble _Part_ again from the _Rigidity_ of these BONES.

_THIRDLY_, the _Figure_ of the WOMB, from its internal _Orifice_ to its Bottom, in a _Natural State_, resembles a large compress’d _PEAR_. Its _Length_ is about three Inches; its _Breadth_ two in the _Hinder_, and one in the _Fore-Part_; its _Thickness_ half an Inch large: But I take the _Dimensions_ of it, in general, to differ accord-to the _Age_ and _Constitution_ of the BODY.

IN _MAIDS_ however its _Cavity_ is much _less_, and can scarcely contain the Bigness of a BEAN: whereas in _Women with Child_, the _Dimensions_ and _Figure_, as well as the _Cavity_ itself differs, according to the different _Times_ of _GESTATION_.

AS I have said before, its _Anterior Part_ coheres _above_ with the _BLADDER_, _below_ with the _RECTUM_; the _Hinder Part_ being free: But the _lateral Parts_ are tied by _Four Ligaments_ of different Sorts; whereof _Two_ are placed _Above_, and _Two Below_; the _Superiors_ are called LIGAMENTA LATA, or broad; the _Inferiors_ ROTUNDA, or round _Ligaments_.

THE _two broad Ligaments_ are _Membranous_, and call’d ALÆ VESPERTILIONUM; which spring from the PERITONÆUM, and join the WOMB on each Side to the _OSSA ILIA_: So that the _OVARIA_ are fasten’d to _one End_ of them, and the TUBÆ _Fallopianæ_ lie along the _Other_.

THE _two round Ligaments_ arise from the _Fore_ and _lateral Part_ of the Bottom of the WOMB, and pass thro’ the Rings of the _Muscles_ of the ABDOMEN, terminating in _Fat_ near the GROINS. _They_ are of a hard _Substance_, pretty _Big_ at the Bottom of the WOMB; but _smaller_ and _flatter_, as they approach the _OS PUBIS_. Now Those _Four Ligaments_ serve to keep the WOMB streight, steady, and firm in its proper Place _before BIRTH_, and to restore it to its natural _Position_, by the Help of CONTRACTION, _After_.

THE _Orifice_ of the WOMB opening into the _VAGINA_, is of the same _Figure_ with the _Nut_ of the _PENIS_: This in _VIRGINS_ is very _small_, scarcely admitting a _Specillum_ or _Probe_; in OTHERS it is much _larger_; but in _Women with Child_, several small _Ducts_ or Vesicles open among the RUGÆ, which discharge a _Glutinous Liquor_ to close and seal up this _Orifice_, till the Time of _BIRTH_.

THE _Substance_ of the WOMB is _Solid_ and _Muscular_, composed of a various PLEXUS, or Web of fleshy _Fibres_, woven like a NET, with the Interposition of innumerable _Vessels_, of _ARTERIES_, _VEINS_, _NERVES_, &c. _Without_, it is surrounded with a _Thin_ and _Smooth Membrane_ from the PERITONÆUM; and _within_ its _Cavity_, furnished with a _Thick_, _Porous_, and _Nervous one_, call’d the proper _Membrane_ of the WOMB.

THE _Veins_ and _Arteries_ of the WOMB, proceed from the _Spermatick Vessels_, and HYPOGASTRICKS; which _Vessels_ are all inserted in the proper _Membrane_. The _Arteries_ convey the BLOOD for its Nourishment; which accumulating and abounding there in _great Quantity_, at _Maturity_ of Years (when no _more_ is requir’d for the _Encrease_ or _Growth_ of the Body) it distends the _Vessels_, and distills into the Bottom of the WOMB: Whence proceeds the _Blood_ which nourisheth the FOETUS in the _Pregnant Woman_, and the _Monthly Terms_ or MENSTRUA in the _Woman not with Child_; which _Evacuation_, MEN Themselves are also subject to in a great Measure; (notwithstanding their inconsiderate _Detractions_ and vain _Talk_ on this Head) save only that in THEM the _Redundant Humour_ passes off a different Way by _Urine_, by the _Nose_, and sometimes by the _Hemorrhoidal Veins_, &c.

THE _VEINS_ Serve only to reconduct to the _Heart_, the BLOOD which is neither wholly evacuated nor consum’d, as I observed more at large _Before_. But the NERVES arise from the _Intercostals_, and those of the OS SACRUM; remarkable _Branches_ of which run along the Back of the _Clitoris_, from whence this _Part_ is susceptible of the very slightest _Impression_.

THERE are moreover other small _Vessels_, springing one from another, which tend to this _Orifice_, and serve in _Plethorick Women_ with _CHILD_, to carry off the Superfluity of the _Humours_. And, in short, prudent _Nature_, seems to have so ordered _These_ to prevent _ABORTION_, which might easily happen, if the _pregnant_ WOMB was too much expos’d, or was to open itself for this Purpose.

THE _Seminal_ or _Spermatick Vessels_ are _Four_, like as they are computed to be also in MEN, and differ only in being _shorter_. The _Blood Vessels_ are very winding; and the _Spermatick Arteries_ arising with a narrow Origin from the _Aorta_, form various _Plexus’s_, and _Inosculations_, as _These_ do: And the _Spermatick Veins_ (tho’ without _Valves_) have the like _Inosculations_ with the _Arteries_, which however in _These_ are more conspicuous.

THE _OVARIA_, or _TESTICLES_, are _Two Bodies_, on each Side _One_, annexed to the Bottom of the WOMB, at about Two Fingers Distance, near the _broad Ligaments_: _They_ are fixed to the PERITONÆUM at the ILIA, nigh the _Spermatick Vessels_: Their _Figure_ is almost _Oval_, a little depressed on the _Upper Part_, where the SPERMATICKS enter.

THEIR _SIZE_ is generally about half as _Big_ as _MEN_’s are; but _this_ differs according to the _Age_ and _Constitution_ of Persons: Their _Surface_ is smooth, and even in _Virgins_; but wrinkled, uneven, and dry in _old Women_: They are encompass’d with a proper strong _Membrane_, deriving its _Original_ from the _PERITONÆUM_; which also covers all the _Spermatick Vessels_.

THEIR _Substance_ is Membranous and Fibrous, interwoven with a vast Number of _Vessels_; among which are some round _Vesicles_, containing a viscous HUMOUR, when boil’d, of the _Colour_, _Consistence_, and _Taste_ of the boil’d _White of an Egg_: From whence they are call’d EGGS, because of this _Analogy_. _These_ also differ in _Size_ and _Number_, according to _Age_ and _Constitution_, although (ordinarily) the _Biggest_ of them scarcely equals a PEA; and there are in _some_ Persons 10 or 12 of them, in _others_ (perhaps) but _One_ or _Two_ discernible.

THE TUBÆ FALLOPIANÆ, are _Two winding Canals_, resembling _Two Trumpets_, situated on the _Right_ and _Left_ Side of the WOMB, annexed close to its _Bottom_, by their double _Membrane_; which is only a Continuation of the _exterior_ and _interior Membranes_ of the WOMB: They in _SIZE_ equal a little _Finger_ about the Middle; tho’ the _Cavity_ opening into the WOMB, will scarce admit a _Hog’s Bristle_; but the _other Extremity_, floating loose in the ABDOMEN, will admit the Point or Tip of a little _Finger_: They are of a Membranous and Cavernous _Substance_, about 5 or 6 Inches long, and have the same _Veins_, _Arteries_, and _Nerves_, as the _OVARIA_.

THESE _Tubes_, to be brief, (in time of _COITION_) are erected by a copious Influx of _Blood_ and _Spirits_; which also, by the Assistance of their _muscular Fringes_, embrace the _OVARIUM_, transmit the _prolifick Masculine_ SEED, afterwards receive the _impregnated_ EGG, and at last convey it thence into the WOMB. In fine, these are all the _internal Parts_, as I conceive, tending to _GENERATION_. But more particularly, to proceed to

CHAP. VII.
_Of the PELVIS._

THIS being that _Cavity_ in which the WOMB is placed, and through which the _INFANT_ passes in time of _BIRTH_; it is my Opinion that a distinct _Knowledge_ of it is highly necessary for all _MIDWIVES_ to accomplish their _Practice_: For without that _Qualification_, they cannot help committing a great many _Blunders_, and being guilty of innumerable _Mistakes_; since they must proceed upon gross _Uncertainties_, and use their _Hands_ like _MEN_ groping in the _Dark_, as hereafter will more plainly appear.

THIS is that _Cavity_ betwixt the OSSA INNOMINATA and OS SACRUM; which join themselves in the _Posterior Part_ of it on each side, by _Cartilages_ and _Ligaments_: so that they, forming there a strong and firm _Juncture_, compose this _Cavity_ of the _PELVIS_, which is vulgarly call’d the _Bason_ of the WOMB.

THE upper Part of the OSSA PUBIS forms the _Borders_ of this CAVITY _before_, and the Hanging forwards or bending down of the OS SACRUM makes _Those_ of it _behind_; as the OSSA ILIA compose the _same_ on each side.

THESE OSSA ILIA are (by _some_) call’d the _Wings_ and _Bounds_ of the _PELVIS_; but they are mightily mistaken, who imagine that they surround or encompass the _PELVIS_: For they are only annexed to it on _each side_, and more extended towards the _Back_ than the _Forepart_. As they are also very much in the _wrong_, who think that the _Cavity_ of the _PELVIS_ extends in its _Length_, according to the _Length_ of the BACK-BONE: since it rises from the _Bottom_ obliquely, ascending _Forwards_, and so proceeds, as if a Person might, through its _Passage_, easily touch the NAVEL.

IN fine, it is here Remarkable also, that we do not always find the largest _PELVIS_ in _Women_ of the largest SIZE, but often the quite _contrary_; for it differs as the _INFANT_ does in _Bulk_, exactly answering to the _Bigness_ of its HEAD: And in some _Women_ it is _Deeper_, in some _Larger_, in some _Broader_, in some _Flatter_, in some more _Oval_, and in some at last _Rounder_. From whence arise sundry _Observations_ both useful and necessary, for the better _Information_ of _MIDWIVES_.

CHAP. VIII.
_Of the BONES of the PELVIS._

I Doubt not in the least but _This_ and the _proceeding Chapter_ will seem needless, and appear superfluous to some Persons, in the _Practice_ of _MIDWIFERY_; namely, to such as know not the _New Improvements_ of this ART: But especially to such as are accustom’d to the _Use_ of INSTRUMENTS, they’ll appear altogether _Useless_ and _Vain_; since such _Practitioners_ can easily (upon any Occasion, without the curious _Anatomical Knowledge_ of _these Parts_) first slay the _INFANT_, and then either _deliver_ or _kill_ the _WOMAN_, as _Chance_ may _direct_ their _SHARPS_.

BUT for my Part, because I have no Notion of such sort of WEAPONS, I shall endeavour to acquit my self more _honourably_, and teach my _Followers_ another way, and _That_ without BLOOD-SHED; as I hope will hereafter more amply appear.

AND FIRST therefore in speaking of the _Bones_ of the _PELVIS_, I shall begin with the _OSSA Innominata_; which are _two_ large _Bones_ joined to the _Sides_ of the _OS SACRUM_. _They_ are compos’d of _Three_ distinct _Pieces_, each of which has its respective _Name_: The FIRST and _superior_ is call’d OS ILIUM; because the _Guts_ ILIA lie upon it directly. It is _Large_ and almost of a _Semicircular Figure_, a little _Convex_ and _Uneven_ on its _External Side_; as it is _Concave_ and _Smooth_ on the _Internal_. In short, it is join’d to the _Sides_ of the _three Superior_ VERTEBRÆ of the OS SACRUM, and is _Larger_ in _WOMEN_ than in _MEN_.

THE SECOND and _Anterior_ is call’d OS PUBIS; which is united in the _Forepart_ to its _Fellow-BONE_ of the _other Side_, by an intervening _Cartilage_: By the Extension of which _Cartilage_, the OSSA PUBIS in _Young Women_, sometimes recede a little from _One another_, to facilitate a difficult BIRTH.

THE THIRD is the _Inferiour_ and _Posteriour_, call’d OS ISCHIUM, or COXENDIX, which has a large _Cavity_ call’d _Acetabulum Coxendicis_; and This receives the _Head_ of the OS FEMORIS; the _Supercilium_ or _Top_ of which _Cavity_ joins the OS PUBIS.

THESE _Three Bones_, until the Age of _Puberty_, may be seen distinctly, tho’ afterwards they grow together, and become _one BONE_, without leaving any Mark of _Division_. They adhere on each _side_ to the OS SACRUM by _two Strong Ligaments_; the _Upper_ of which passes from the _Posteriour Acute Process_ of the ISCHIUM to the SACRUM; as the _Lower_ joins the _Tuberculum_ ISCHII to the SACRUM.

THESE _Bones_ in _WOMEN_ are more distant or separated from _One another_, and are _smaller_ than in _MEN_; especially the OS PUBIS, to the end that the _Cavity_ of the _PELVIS_, and the _Angle_ betwixt the OS PUBIS and ISCHIUM, may be the _Larger_, for the more commodious _Bearing_ of the INFANT, and the more easy _Exclusion_ of it in BIRTH. But from hence I would no ways infer, that the OSSA PUBIS and ILIA sever themselves in time of _LABOUR_; (notwithstanding the _Opinion_ of _some Authors_) for I am fully satisfied of the _contrary_: Because I have conducted more than one _Woman_ in my Time, upon walking out of _one Chamber_ into _another_, immediately after _DELIVERY_; which could never have happen’d in _Case_ of such a distant or dislocated _Separation_.

THESE _Bones_ call’d _Innominata_ are of wonderful _Use_ and _Service_: For besides that they form the _PELVIS_, and defend every Part of its _Contents_, they also give _Connexion_ and _Juncture_ of the rest of the Body, to the _Thigh-Bones_; as they likewise give _Rise_ and _Origin_ to many MUSCLES, and are the _Basis_ of Support of the SPINE of the _Back_, as well as of all the _Superior Parts_. Whence I come _à propos_ to descant a little upon this particular _Part_, as far as concerns our present Purpose.

THE SPINE then is that _Bony Column_ or _Ridge_, which extends itself down the _Back_ from the HEAD to the _Fundament_, containing the _Spinal Marrow_, and resembling the _Letter_ S in figure.

IN This SPINA therefore we must consider its _Fivefold Division_; namely, into NECK, BACK, LOINS, OS SACRUM, and OS COCCYGIS. The First _Three_ consist of 24 VERTEBRÆ; whereof the _Neck_ has 7, the _Back_ 12, and 5 belong to the _Loins_. _Those_ of the NECK bend _inwards_; those of the BACK _outwards_, for enlarging the _Cavity_ of the THORAX; _Those_ of the LOINS bend _inwards_ again; and _Those_ of the OS SACRUM _outwards_, to enlarge the _Cavity_ of the _PELVIS_.

THE VERTEBRÆ of the _two last_ concern us most in this Place; wherefore I shall say no more of the _rest_, save only by the By, or coincidently, as they fall in my way. _Those_ of the LOINS then are the _Thickest_ and _Broadest_, and the _Last_ of them is the _Largest_ of all the VERTEBRÆ; as their _Cartilages_ are thicker and stronger than any of the _Others_, and their _Acute Processes_ are at a greater _Distance_ from one another. From whence it comes to pass, that the greatest _Motion_ of the BACK is perform’d by the VERTEBRÆ of the LOINS.

THE VERTEBRÆ of the OS SACRUM grow so close together in _Adults_, that they make but one large solid _BONE_, of a _Triangular Figure_; and yet not without the _Mark_ of a four or five-fold _Division_: As in CHILDREN, it consists of many more _Pieces_ or _Divisions_. However, its _Basis_ is tyed to the last VERTEBRÆ of the LOINS, and the _Upper part_ of its _Sides_ to the ILIA; as its _Point_ is to the OS COCCYGIS.

THE OS COCCYGIS is also in _Adults_, for the most part, but one entire _BONE_; tho’ in _younger Persons_ it is compos’d of 3 or 4 small _Divisions_; Of which the _Lower_ is still less than the _Upper_; till the _Last_ ends in a small _Cartilage_. It is join’d in its _Glenoide Cavity_ to the Extremity of the OS SACRUM; being short and bent _inwards_: It supports the INTESTINUM RECTUM, and yields to the _Pressure_ of the _INFANT_ in _Travail_: But _MIDWIVES_ ought not to thrust it back or repel it with _Violence_; No, they should rather handle it _gently_, if they would prevent dangerous _Consequences_, as well as great _Pain_ to the _Woman_ in _LABOUR_.

FROM hence it is manifest, that _they_ are mistaken who imagine that the _Opening_ and _Enlargement_ of the _PELVIS_, in making way for the _INFANT_, does depend upon the _Separation_ of the OSSA PUBIS: For it much more depends upon the _yielding_ of the OS SACRUM, or its giving way naturally; especially _This Part_ of it call’d OS COCCYGIS. Neither doth the _Straitness_ of the _Upper Part_ of the _PELVIS_ so much occasion a difficult _BIRTH_, as the _small Distance_ that is betwixt the _Points_ of the OSSA PUBIS, call’d OSSA SEDENTARIA or _Seat-Bones_, and the OS COCCYGIS: No indeed, neither of _These_ can be any great _Hindrance_ to the Passage of the INFANT; since all BONES, never so closely knit together with LIGAMENTS, may be moved _extensively_ upon occasion, by carefully and gently _stretching_ the said LIGAMENTS. But, in short, it most commonly happens, that the _Ill Position_ of the INFANT itself, or the bad _Condition_ and _Situation_ of the WOMB, or _Both_, occasion a difficult or preternatural BIRTH.

BUT I would here farther observe yet, that as these BONES differ frequently both in _Form_ and _Size_, according to the different _Constitution_ of the Body; so neither are _they_ always of the _same Substance_: For in _some Women_, we find a great many _Nervous_ and _Cartilaginous_ LIGAMENTS, which penetrate into the _solid Substance_ of the BONES themselves; in which the LIGAMENTS are so fast bound together, that it is hard to distinguish whether they are _One_ or _More_ BONES. From whence, however, it will hereafter appear, that _One Woman_ is more easily delivered than _Another_; the BONES in _One_ being more firm and immoveable, altogether resisting any _Relaxation_; which in _Another_ are more loose and pliable, easily give way and yield freely to the _Force_ of the Endeavouring and Struggling _INFANT_.

THE _Contents_ of this SECTION will appear more evident, by looking curiously upon a _Female SKELETON_: In which (for Distinction’s-sake I recite _This_) that the lower Parts of the _Seat-Bones_, are generally more _distant_, and not so much bent _inwards_, down towards the Point of the OS COCCYGIS, as in a _Male SKELETON_. Which Difference, in short, the Omniscient CREATOR has so order’d, for preventing difficult _BIRTHS_; and yet, notwithstanding all this wise Provision of Nature, they happen too often in the World. However, having thus, in fine, described the PELVIS and its BONES, as far as is requisite for _MIDWIVES_, I come next, more particularly to describe that astonishing _Piece_ of GOD’S _Handy-work_, to which all the afore-mention’d _Parts_ are ordain’d to _minister_, and that both _conjunctly_ and _severally_, without any _Exception_: viz.

CHAP. IX.
_Of the WOMB._

I Say this is that _Body_, which the _Learned Great Men_ of all Ages have esteem’d and look’d upon as the most wonderful MIRACLE of _Nature_, not only because of its singular _Substance_ and _Structure_, but also of its peculiar _Qualities_ and _Faculties_.

AS to the _Substance_ and _Structure_, I have before observed in _Chap. 6._ of this SECTION, that it is singularly composed, of an innumerable Multitude of _Fibrous Vessels_ and _Muscular Parts_; which being _All_ most curiously interwoven, are admirably form’d together in its Constitution.

BUT how particular soever I have been on this _Head_, in _Chap. 5_, and _6_. I must resume this _Topick_ here, and add, that the WOMB, and its _Vagina_ or _Neck_, are closely join’d together: For it terminates in a POINT near its _Orifice_, intrudes itself into the _Vagina_, and hangs so down, that in _Women not with_ CHILD, and sometimes also in the first Months of _Pregnancy_, This sharp POINT may be perceiv’d by the _Touch_.

AND how closely soever this _Orifice_ of the WOMB is shut after _Conception_ or during _Pregnancy_; yet in a _BIRTH_ it is so expanded, that the WOMB and _Vagina_ both seem to have but _One_ and the _same Cavity_, like a BAG of equal Dimensions; there being then no Difference perceivable between that _Orifice_ and the _Vagina_, excepting that the _VAGINA_ is _Softer_ and _Thinner_.

THE WOMB may be otherwise aptly compar’d to the EARTH; because the same Degree of _Affinity_ that the EARTH has to the _Seed of Plants_, the WOMB bears to the _Seed of Men_: It being the very _Secundary Cause_ in the _Constitution_ of the _Human Conception_; not indeed the _Instrumental_ only, but also the _Active Cause_: For whereas the _Instrument_ takes _Motion_ from, and _operates_ by Virtue of _Another_, the WOMB only _acts_ of _itself_ and _operates_ by Virtue of its own _Active Faculties_.

BUT more particularly, the WOMB has sundry proper _Actions_ in this _Constitution_, which are peculiarly dependent of, and accordingly discharged by ITSELF only; and therefore it is not the sole or pure Instrumental _Agent_. But the Reason that I call it the _Secundary_ or _Disponent_, not the _Primary Cause_, in constituting the FOETUS, is, because the _Actions_ of the WOMB do not precisely terminate in this _Constitution_, but chiefly in disposing the _Causes_ constituting the MAN. And as (I think) there are _Eight_ such _Actions_ belonging to the WOMB, I shall undertake to define them all particularly in a few Words. And,

I. THE _FIRST Action_ of the WOMB is, that by its _attractive Faculty_, it may allure the _Masculine Seed_ infus’d by Coition into the FUND of its _Capacity_, after the same manner as a _famishing Stomach_ snatches at the Victuals by the _Gullet_ from the _Mouth_ of the Eater.

II. THE _SECOND_ is like unto the _FIRST_, and consists in _attracting_ (after the same manner) the _Muliebrian_ SEED from the Vessels of the TESTICLES, into the same _Cavity_.

III. THE _THIRD Function_ of the WOMB, is the _Copulation_ and mutual _Conjunction_ of the SEEDS of both Parents; which it prepares and perfects by its innate _Power_, constricting itself in all Parts: And this _Action_, I do not (in this place) call a _Permistion_ of these SEEDS, as it is generally term’d, because a _Mixture_ is properly perform’d only by the concording _Qualities_ and mutual _Actions_ of two or more miscible _Copulatives_, without any _Assistance_ of the _Thing Containing_.

IV. THE _FOURTH Office_ of the WOMB, is an _Effusion_ of the _Menstruous Blood_ upon the aggregated _Seed_, from a Relaxation of the little _Orifices_ of the VEINS terminating in its interiour _Surface_.

V. THE _FIFTH Action_ of the WOMB, is, the _Retention_ of those three conjoin’d _Bodies_; to effect which _Work_, the WOMB contracts itself on all sides, and shuts up all its _Orifices_, even to the sensible Animadversion of the WOMAN.

VI. THE _SIXTH Function_ of the WOMB, is to excite the Virtue of the _Torpent Lifeless_ SEED, and rouze it up from _Idleness_ to _Activity_; as the latent Virtue of PHYSICK in the Body is _excited_ to Operation by the _natural Heat_ of the VISCERA.

VII. THE _SEVENTH Office_ of the WOMB, is (after the FOETUS is Form’d and Organiz’d) the _Attraction_ of the BLOOD from the _Maternal Veins_, into the _Umbilical Vessels_, for its _Nutrication_ and Growth.