§5Ἀπὸ τῆς κοίλης φλεβὸς καὶ τῆς ἐπικειμένης ἀρτηρίας τῆς μεγάλης ἀποφύονται δύο μὲν φλέβες, δύο δὲ ἀρτηρίαι, μία ἑκατέρωθεν, φλὲψ μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς κοίλης φλεβὸς, ἀρτηρία δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρτηρίας.
From the vena cava and the overlying great artery arise two veins and two arteries, one on each side: a vein from the vena cava, and an artery from the artery.
εἶτα ἡ μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν δεξιῶν εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ, ἡ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀριστερῶν εἰς τὸ ἀριστερὸν μέρος τῆς μήτρας ἐνεχθεῖσα, πρὸ μὲν τῆς εἰς αὐτὴν ἐμφύσεως ἀποσχίδας εἰς τοὺς διδύμους ἐκτείνει· μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ ἤδη εἰς τὸ σῶμα τῆς μήτρας καταφύεται, καὶ τοῦτο διαπλέκει.
Then, the one from the right being carried to the right part of the uterus, and the one from the left to the left part, before its deep insertion into it, extends branches to the ovaries; and after this, it already penetrates into the body of the uterus and weaves it.
ταῦτα μὲν δὴ τὰ τέτταρα ἀγγεῖα μικρὸν ὑποκάτω κεῖται τῶν ὑπὸ τοὺς νεφρούς· πολλῷ δὲ μείζους αἱ φλέβες τῶν ἀρτηριῶν.
These four vessels indeed lie a little below those under the kidneys; and the veins are much larger than the arteries.
ἕτερα δὲ τέτταρα οὐκ ἐπὶ πασῶν γυναικῶν, ἀλλ’ ἔστιν ἐφ’ ὧν, φησὶν Ἡρόφιλος, τῶν ἐπὶ τοὺς νεφροὺς ἰόντων ἀποφυόμενα, εἰς τὴν μήτραν ἐμβάλλει, ὅπερ ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ζώων οὐχ εὗρον πλὴν σπανίως ἐν πιθήκοις.
But another four vessels, not in all women, but there are some in whom, Herophilus says, arising from those going to the kidneys, empty into the uterus; which I have not found in other animals except rarely in apes.
οὐ μὴν ἀπιστῶ τὸ πολλάκις εὑρεῖν αὐτὰ ἐπὶ γυναικῶν τὸν Ἡρόφιλον· ἱκανὸς γὰρ ἦν τά τε ἄλλα τῆς τέχνης, καὶ τῶν δι’ ἀνατομῆς γινωσκομένων ἐπὶ τὸ ἀκριβέστατον ἥκων, καὶ τὴν πλείστην ἐπίγνωσιν οὐκ ἐπὶ ἀλόγων ζώων, καθάπερ οἱ πολλοὶ, ἀλλ’ ἐπ’ αὐτῶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πεποιημένος.
However, I do not doubt that Herophilus found them many times in women; for he was competent in the rest of the art, and had reached the highest precision in what is known through anatomy, having made most of his observations not on irrational animals, as many do, but on humans themselves.
οὗτος δὲ καὶ ὑμέσιν ἐμφύεσθαι τὰ τρέφοντα τὴν μήτραν ἀγγεῖά φησι, ὧν λέγομεν ἐξηρτῆσθαι κύστιν, καὶ γίγνεσθαι τοὺς ὑμένας ἀεὶ παχυτέρους τε καὶ σκληροτέρους καὶ τυλωδεστέρους ταῖς πλείω κυησάσαις.
And he also says that the vessels nourishing the uterus grow into the membranes from which we say the bladder is suspended, and that the membranes always become thicker, harder, and more calloused in those who have been pregnant more times.
ταῦτα δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων φαίνεται ζώων.
And these things also appear in other animals.
καὶ μὴν ἕτεραί τινες ἀρτηρίαι καὶ φλέβες ἑκατέρωθεν τῆς μήτρας ἐμφύονται παρὰ τὸν αὐχένα, ἀπὸ τῆς εἰς τὸ αἰδοῖόν τε καὶ τὴν ἕδραν ἡκούσης μεμερισμέναι.
And indeed, some other arteries and veins grow in on each side of the uterus near the neck, branched off from the one coming to the pudenda and the anus.
τοιοῦτος μὲν δὴ καὶ ὁ περὶ τῶν τρεφόντων καὶ πλεκόντων τὴν μήτραν ἀγγείων λόγος.
Such indeed is also the account concerning the vessels that nourish and weave the uterus.
§6Αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ σῶμα αὐτῆς δύο χιτῶνές εἰσιν, ἀντιστρόφως κείμενοι, νευρωδέστερος μὲν ὁ ἔξωθεν, φλεβωδέστερος δὲ ὁ ἔσωθεν, ἐπὶ πολὺ διΐστασθαί τε καὶ συστέλλεσθαι πεφυκότες.
And its body itself consists of two tunics, lying in opposite directions: the outer one more tendinous, and the inner one more venous, naturally suited to dilate and contract to a great extent.
τούτων ὁ μὲν ἔξωθεν ἁπλοῦς τε καὶ εἷς ἐστι, διπλοῦς δὲ ὁ ἔσωθεν, καὶ τὰ μέρη αὐτοῦ συμβάλλει μὲν ἀλλήλοις, οὐ συμφύεται δὲ, οὐδὲ ἑνοῦται, ἀλλὰ μόνον παράκειται, ὑπὸ τοῦ παρακειμένου χιτῶνος συνεχόμενα.
Of these, the outer one is simple and single, while the inner one is double, and its parts meet each other but do not grow together, nor are they united, but only lie adjacent, being held together by the adjacent tunic.
εἰ οὖν θελήσαις ἀποδείρας χωρίσαι, δύο σοι φανοῦνται μῆτραι, ὑφ’ ἑνὶ καὶ τῷ αὐτῷ χιτῶνι κείμεναι.
If, therefore, you should wish to peel off and separate them, two uteri will appear to you, lying under one and same tunic.
τοῦτον γὰρ, ὥσπερ καὶ τὴν μήτραν, τὸν χιτῶνα εἰς δύο χωρίσαι οὐκέτι δυνήσῃ.
For you will no longer be able to separate this tunic into two, just as you cannot do so with the uterus.
ὁ μὲν φλεβώδης χιτὼν τὰ μὲν ἐνδὸν μέρη τραχύς ἐστιν ἱκανῶς, καὶ τοιοῦτος δὲ μάλιστα κατὰ τὸν πυθμένα· ὁ δὲ περικείμενος αὐτῷ ὁ νευρώδης παχύτερος πολλῷ τοῦ τῆς κύστεως χιτῶνος, καὶ φλεψὶ πολλαῖς καὶ ἀρτηρίαις διειλημμένος.
The venous tunic, on the inside parts, is quite rough, and especially so at the bottom; while the tendinous one surrounding it is much thicker than the tunic of the bladder, and is intersected by many veins and arteries.
§7Ὁ δὲ αὐχὴν τῆς μήτρας, μυώδης ὢν, ἐκ σαρκὸς γέγονε σκληρᾶς τε καὶ χονδρώδους, καὶ ἀεὶ σκληρότερος ἑαυτοῦ γίνεται καὶ χονδρώδης τῷ χρόνῳ, ὥστε, ὅσαι πολλά γε ἐκύησαν, ἢ πρεσβύτιδες ἤδη εἰσὶν, ἱκανῶς ταύταις ὁ αὐχὴν σκληρός τε καὶ χονδρώδης.
And the neck of the uterus, being muscular, is made of hard and cartilaginous flesh, and always becomes harder than itself and cartilaginous over time, so that in those who have been pregnant many times, or are already old women, the neck is sufficiently hard and cartilaginous for them.
εἰκάζει δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν φύσιν ὁ Ἡρόφιλος βρόγχου τῷ ἄκρῳ.
And Herophilus likens its nature to the tip of the bronchus.
τρῆμα δὲ ἔχει ὁ αὐχὴν οὗτος, δι’ οὗ κενοῦται μὲν τὸ θῆλυ τὰ ἐπιμήνια, λαμβάνει δὲ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ ἄῤῥενος τὴν γονὴν, ἔξεισί τε τῆς μήτρας δι’ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἔμβρυον.
And this neck has an opening, through which the female empties the menses, and the woman receives the seed of the male into herself, and the embryo exits from the uterus through it.
ἄπιστον γὰρ ὁ πόρος οὗτος εὐρύτητος κατὰ καιρὸν παραλλάττει, ὃς πυρῆνα μὲν μήλης ἐπιδέχεται, ἢ βραχύ τι τούτου παχύτερον ἐν τῷ ἄλλῳ παντὶ χρόνῳ· κυούσης δὲ τῆς γυναικὸς, σφόδρα μέμυκε, καὶ οὐδὲν ἂν παραδέξαιτο.
For, incredibly, this passage varies in width according to the occasion, which admits the head of a probe, or something slightly thicker than this, in all other times; but when the woman is pregnant, it is tightly closed, and would admit nothing.
ἀπολυομένου δὲ τῆς μήτρας τοῦ ἐμβρύου, αἱ ὠδῖνες ἐπὶ πολὺ διϊστῶσιν αὐτὸν, θαῦμα καὶ ἀκοῦσαι, καὶ τὸ ζῶον ὅλον ταύτῃ δίεισιν.
And when the embryo is released from the uterus, the birth pangs dilate it to a great extent — a marvel even to hear — and the whole living being passes through this way.
περαίνει δὲ αὐτὴν οὗτος εἰς τὸν γυναικεῖον κόλπον οὐκ ὀρθὸς, οὐδὲ εὐθὺς ἐπὶ πασῶν, ἀλλὰ ἐκκλίνεται ἢ παραστρέφεται ἐπί τε τὰ ἀριστερὰ καὶ τὰ δεξιὰ καὶ τὰ ἄνω καὶ τὰ κάτω.
And this passage terminates the uterus into the female vagina, not straight nor direct in all women, but it inclines or is turned aside to the left and to the right, and upward and downward.
περὶ δὲ τοῦ πρόσω καὶ ὀπίσω, ὅτι δὴ ὁμοίως ἁπάσαις ἔχει, ἤδη εἴρηται.
But concerning the forward and backward, that it is indeed similar in all, has already been said.