. Discovery reports. Discovery (Ship); Scientific expeditions. 400 DISCOVERY REPORTS since during early lactation more blood appears to break away (Plate XLII, fig. 4). The material collected did not cover the later stages of gestation. Sections were cut of the uteri of six pregnant whales, and the foetuses present were all in comparatively young stages, viz. Blue whales 0*55, 0-91 and 1-52 m.; Fin whales o-8i, 1-09 and 1-63 m. Later in lactation the uterus returns to the resting stage shown in Plate XLII, fig. 5. Fig. 137 shows the uterus of a whale (Fin, No. 877, 13. vii. 26) in which ovulat
. Discovery reports. Discovery (Ship); Scientific expeditions. 400 DISCOVERY REPORTS since during early lactation more blood appears to break away (Plate XLII, fig. 4). The material collected did not cover the later stages of gestation. Sections were cut of the uteri of six pregnant whales, and the foetuses present were all in comparatively young stages, viz. Blue whales 0*55, 0-91 and 1-52 m.; Fin whales o-8i, 1-09 and 1-63 m. Later in lactation the uterus returns to the resting stage shown in Plate XLII, fig. 5. Fig. 137 shows the uterus of a whale (Fin, No. 877, 13. vii. 26) in which ovulation had taken place, there was a corpus luteum a in the ovary but no sign of a foetus in the uterus. The capillaries at the edge of the mucous membrane appeared to be dilatedâthey were more evident in this section than in any of the othersâbut they contained no blood corpuscles, while vessels in the deep mucosa were full of blood. The change in size of the uterus at ovulation is due to the increasing supply of blood and the congestion of the uterine tissue. If ovulation passes without fertilization the uterus tends to return to the normal. If, however, pregnancy supervenes the congestion remains, at least for a time. At parturition also it is congested and presumably it has remained so throughout gestation. During lactation the uterus returns again to normal, both in size and in condition of the mucosa. A number of smears of vaginal mucus from different whales were collected and stained in an endeavour to trace the course of the generative processes. This method was used with some success by Long and Evans (1922) in their work on the oestrous cycle in the rat. Care was taken that no apparent injury had been done to the internal organs in the whales from which the smears were taken, for blood for instance may sometimes be present in the vagina as a result of injury by the harpoon. The whales examined were as follows: four immature (Nos. 191, 203, 187 and 192), five mature
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectscientificexpedition
