§3Τὸ δὲ σχῆμα αὐτῆς, τὸ μὲν ἄλλο πᾶν σῶμα καὶ μάλιστα ὁ πυθμὴν κύστει ἔοικε· καθ’ ὅσον δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν πλαγίων ἀποφύσεις ἔχει μαστοειδεῖς πρὸς τὰς λαγόνας ἀνανευούσας, ταύτῃ οὐκ ἔτι ἔοικεν.
Its shape, all the rest of the body and especially the bottom, resembles the bladder; but insofar as it has mastoid processes on the sides, slanting upward toward the flanks, in this respect it no longer resembles it.
αὐτῶν δὲ τούτων τὸ σχῆμα ὁ μὲν Ἡρόφιλος ἡμιτόμου κύκλου ἕλικι εἰκάζει· Διοκλῆς δὲ κέρασι φυομένοις.
And Herophilus likens the shape of these very parts to the curve of a semicircle; while Diocles likens them to budding horns.
διὰ ταῦτα καὶ ὠνόμασε κεραίας παρωνύμως ἀπὸ τοῦ κέρατος.
For this reason he also named them 'horns' (keraiai), derivatively from 'horn' (keras).
Εὔδημος δὲ πλεκτάνας καλεῖ, οὐκ ἔχων φάναι, πότερον ὅτι πέπλεκται ταύτῃ ἀγγεῖα ἑλικοειδῶς, ἀλλ’ αὐτὰς τὰς ἀποφύσεις παρείκασε πλεκτάναις.
And Eudemus calls them 'tentacles' (plektanas) — not being able to say whether it is because vessels are woven there in a spiral fashion, but he compared the processes themselves to tentacles.
οἱ δὲ περὶ Πραξαγόραν τε καὶ Φιλότιμον κόλπους αὐτὰς καλοῦσι, ὅθεν καὶ δίκολπον μὲν τὴν μήτραν τῆς γυναικὸς λέγουσι, πολύκολπον δὲ τὴν τῶν πολυτόκων ζώων.
And those around Praxagoras and Philotimus call them 'pockets' (kolpoi), whence also they call the uterus of a woman 'two-pocketed' (dikolpos), but that of multiparous animals 'many-pocketed' (polykolpos).
καὶ ὅτι μὲν ἡ τῆς ὑὸς μήτρα, καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο ὁμοῦ κυΐσκει πολλὰ, πολύκολπός ἐστι, τοῦτο μὲν καὶ πάνυ ἀληθές· οὐ μὴν ἐπί γε γυναικῶν τοὔνομα πρέπειν ἡγοῦμαι.
And that the uterus of a sow, and whatever other animal gestates many offspring at once, is many-pocketed, is indeed very true; however, I do not think the name is appropriate for women.
πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ἑλικοειδής ἐστιν ἡ τῆς ὑὸς μήτρα, ἔπειτα ἐν τοῖς κόλποις τὰ ἔμβρυα κυΐσκεται· γυναικὶ δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ζώοις, ὅσα γυναικὶ κατὰ τὴν μήτραν ἔοικεν, οἷον αἰγί τε καὶ βοῒ, οὐκ ἐν ταῖς κεραίαις εὑρίσκεται τὰ ἔμβρυα, (παρὰ πολὺ γὰρ αὗται ἐλάττους ἢ κατὰ μέγεθος ἐμβρύου,) ἀλλ’ ἐν τῷ ἄλλῳ κύτει παντὶ τῆς ὑστέρας.
For first, the uterus of a sow is spiral-shaped, and second, the embryos are gestated in the pockets; but in a woman and other animals whose uterus resembles that of a woman, such as the goat and the cow, the embryos are not found in the horns (for these are far too small for the size of an embryo), but in all the rest of the cavity of the uterus.
ἀλλ’ οἶμαι τούτους, οὐκ ἔχοντας οὔτε χρείαν οὔτε ἐνέργειαν εἰπεῖν τῶν κεραιῶν, τοιαῦτα ἄτοπα λέγειν ὑπομένειν.
But I think they, not being able to state either the use or the action of the horns, submit to saying such absurd things.
ἐπεὶ δὲ μακρός τε ὁ λόγος καὶ ἄλλως οὐ δίκαιον, περὶ μὲν κεραιῶν χρείας τε καὶ ἐνεργείας εἰπεῖν τι, καὶ μὴ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν κατὰ τὴν μήτραν ἑκάστου, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμῖν εἰσαῦθις ἀναβεβλήσθω.
But since the discussion is long, and otherwise it is not right to speak of the use and action of the horns without speaking of each of the other parts of the uterus, for this reason let this also be postponed by us for another time.
ἱκανά τε γὰρ καὶ αὐτὰ καθ’ ἑαυτὰ ἐπισκέψασθαι τὰ κατὰ τὴν μήτραν πεφυκότα, τί τε ἔργον ἑκάστου, καὶ τίς ἡ δύναμις, καὶ διὰ τί τοιαῦτα, κατά τε τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τὴν θέσιν καὶ τὴν διάπλασιν καὶ τὴν πλοκὴν καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὰ παρακείμενα κοινωνίαν ἐγένετο.
For the things naturally belonging to the uterus are indeed sufficient in themselves to be examined — namely, what the function of each is, and what its faculty is, and why they were made such as they are, in terms of size, position, shape, structure, and connection with adjacent parts.
νυνὶ δὲ ἐπὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἴωμεν.
But for now, let us proceed to what follows.
εἴη δ’ ἂν ἑξῆς λέγειν περί τε συμφύσεως καὶ προσαρτήσεως καὶ τῶν ἄλλων, ὅσα τούτοις παράκειται.
It would follow next to speak both of connection and attachment, and of the other things that lie adjacent to these.
§4Τῶν γὰρ τῇ μήτρᾳ σωμάτων ὁμιλούντων τὰ μὲν ἐπιψαύει μόνον αὐτῆς, οὐκέτι δὲ καὶ συμφύεται, πολλὰ δὲ ἑνοῦται, καὶ οὐκ ἂν αὐτὰ χωρίσαις ἄνευ τομῆς· ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἃ δερόντων ἀπολύεται, καὶ μὴν δὴ καὶ προσήρτηται πολλοῖς, καὶ πολλὰ εἰς αὐτὴν ἐμπέφυκεν.
For of the bodies that are in contact with the uterus, some only touch it, but are not also grown together with it, while many are united with it, and you could not separate them without cutting; and there are also some which are released when one peels them off, and indeed it is also attached to many things, and many things grow into it.
ψαύει μὲν οὖν τῶν λεπτῶν ἐντέρων ἥ γε μετρίως ἔχουσα μεγέθους· ἄλλως δὲ ἡ μὲν ὑπερβαλλόντως μικρὰ τούτων ψαύει μόνων, οἷς καὶ προσπέφυκεν· ἡ δ’ αὖ μεγίστη (τοιαύτη δέ ἐστι μάλιστα, ὅταν κύῃ) τάς τε λαγόνας ἐκπεπλήρωκε καὶ τὸ ὑπογάστριον, καὶ πολλῶν ἐντέρων ψαύει.
Now, the one of moderate size touches the small intestines; otherwise, the excessively small one touches only those to which it is also naturally grown; while on the other hand, the largest (such as it is especially when pregnant) fills out both the flanks and the lower abdomen, and touches many intestines.
προσήρτηται δὲ κατά τινας ἰνώδεις καὶ λεπτὰς διαστάσεις ἀπευθυσμένῳ τε καὶ κύστει, (πλείω δέ ἐστι τὰ τῆς κύστεως ἀρτήματα,) καὶ ἱερῷ ὀστέῳ προσήρτηται διά τινων εὐτόνων δεσμῶν, ἐπιδέσεις ἐχόντων νεύρων μυωδῶν.
And it is attached to the rectum and the bladder by certain fibrous and thin tissue-spaces (and the attachments to the bladder are more numerous), and it is attached to the sacred bone by certain strong ligaments, having bands of muscular nerves.
τοσούτοις δὲ σώμασι κᾀκ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὀσφὺν σπονδύλων ἤρτηται.
And by so many bodies it is also suspended from the vertebrae of the loins.
ἐξήρτηται δὲ ἐκ τῶν ταύτης μυῶν τῶν μεγάλων, ἀποφύσεις ἑκατέρωθεν ἀξιολόγους ποιουμένων, αἵ δὴ εἴς τε τὰ τῆς μήτρας ἄμφω μέρη καὶ εἰς τὸν αὐχένα τῆς κύστεως καὶ εἰς τὴν ἕδραν μερίζονται.
And it is suspended from its large muscles, which make notable processes on both sides, which are indeed divided into both parts of the uterus, and into the neck of the bladder, and into the anus.
χαλαροὶ δὲ οὗτοι πάντες οἱ δεσμοὶ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἡ μήτρα κινεῖσθαί τε καὶ μετασχηματίζεσθαι δύναται.
All these ligaments are loose, and for this reason the uterus is able to move and change its shape to a very great extent.
ἀρτήματα δὲ οὐδὲν ἧττόν ἐστι καὶ ὅσα εἰς αὐτὴν ἐμφύεται, τὰ μὲν δὴ ὑφαίνοντά τε καὶ διαπλέκοντα αὐτὸ τὸ σῶμα τῆς ὑστέρας, ὧν οὐκ ὀλίγη μοῖρά ἐστι τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ νωτιαίου μυελοῦ νεῦρα, τὰ δ’ αὐξήσεώς τε καὶ τροφῆς αὐτῆς τῆς μήτρας καὶ τοῦ ἐμβρύου ἕνεκα, αἵ τε φλέβες καὶ ἀρτηρίαι.
No less are those things attachments which grow into it — some indeed weaving and intertwining the very body of the uterus, of which no small portion is the nerves from the spinal cord, and others for the sake of the growth and nourishment of the uterus itself and of the embryo, namely the veins and arteries.
κύστει δὲ καὶ ἀρχῷ συμφύεται μόνον κατὰ τὸν αὐχένα ὑμενώδεσί τε καὶ ἀρτηριώδεσι σώμασιν ἐπὶ ποσῇ πιμελῇ, καὶ ἀποδέρεσθαι μὲν αὐτῶν δύναται, οὕτω δὲ καὶ ἀκριβῶς συμπέφυκεν, ὡς μίαν τε καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν εἶναι σάρκα.
And it is grown together with the bladder and the rectum only at the neck by membranous and arterious bodies upon some fat, and it can be peeled off from them, but it is also so closely grown together as to be one and the same flesh.
προσπεφύκασι δὲ αὐτῇ καὶ δίδυμοι καὶ σπερματικὰ ἀγγεῖα.
And the testes and seminal vessels are also naturally grown to it.
συμπέφυκε δὲ τῷ αἰδοίῳ κατὰ τὸ πέρας τοῦ αὐχένος· ὥστε, τῆς μήτρας τοῖς μὲν συμφυομένης, τοῖς δὲ προσηρτημένης, τοῖς δὲ ἐξαρτωμένης, καὶ τινῶν μὲν αὐτὴν πλεκόντων, τινῶν δὲ τρεφόντων, πρὸς μὲν τράχηλον κύστεως καὶ ἀπευθυσμένου κατὰ τὸ αἰδοῖον, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ πρὸς ὄρχεις καὶ τὰ ἀγγεῖα τὰ σπερματικὰ συμφύεσθαι λέγοιτ’ ἂν, τοῖς δὲ ἄλλοις μέρεσι κύστεως καὶ ἀπευθυσμένου προσηρτῆσθαι, ἱερῷ δὲ ὀστέῳ καὶ προσηρτῆσθαι καὶ ἐξηρτῆσθαι λέγοιτο, μυελοῦ δὲ νωτιαίου καὶ τῶν κατ’ ὀσφὺν μυῶν ἐξηρτῆσθαι μόνον, νεύροις δὲ καὶ ἐξηρτῆσθαι καὶ συμπεφυκέναι καὶ συμπεπλέχθαι, ἀρτηρίαις δὲ καὶ φλεψὶ ἐξηρτῆσθαι καὶ συμπεφυκέναι καὶ συμπεπλέχθαι καὶ τρέφεσθαι.
And it is grown together with the pudenda at the limit of the neck; so that, while the uterus grows together with some things, is attached to others, is suspended from others, and some things weave it, while others nourish it, it might be said to grow together with the neck of the bladder and of the rectum at the pudenda, and likewise with the testes and seminal vessels; but to be attached to the other parts of the bladder and of the rectum; and with respect to the sacred bone, it might be said both to be attached and to be suspended; but from the spinal cord and the muscles of the loins to be suspended only; and by the nerves both to be suspended and grown together and interwoven; and by the arteries and veins to be suspended, grown together, interwoven, and nourished.
πῶς οὖν ἔχουσι μεγέθους τε καὶ θέσεως, καὶ πόσαι τὸν ἀριθμόν εἰσι, καὶ πόθεν πεφύκασιν αἵ τε φλέβες καὶ αἱ ἀρτηρίαι, ἑπόμενον ἂν εἴη λέγειν.
How, then, they are in size and position, and how many they are in number, and whence both the veins and the arteries arise, would follow next to say.