A textbook of obstetrics . mbers of cells heapedtogether, forming a little villus-like projection. There are, nor-mally, no blood-vessels in theamnion,—at least, in its laterstages of development ; theirpossible occurrence, however, inhydramnios will be referred to later. The Liquor Amnii.—It is the physiological function of theamniotic membrane to furnish a fluid medium (the liquor amnii),which distends the uterine walls and allows the fetus some free-dom of movement, and, by its density, approaching the specificgravity of the fetus, robs these movements of much musculareffort. It acts as an
A textbook of obstetrics . mbers of cells heapedtogether, forming a little villus-like projection. There are, nor-mally, no blood-vessels in theamnion,—at least, in its laterstages of development ; theirpossible occurrence, however, inhydramnios will be referred to later. The Liquor Amnii.—It is the physiological function of theamniotic membrane to furnish a fluid medium (the liquor amnii),which distends the uterine walls and allows the fetus some free-dom of movement, and, by its density, approaching the specificgravity of the fetus, robs these movements of much musculareffort. It acts as an additional protection to the fetus from ex-ternal violence, pressure, and changes of temperature ; it receivesthe urine secreted in the latter part of fetal life ; and, perhaps,has some little part in the nourishment of the fetus, or at leastin supplying the fetal tissues with that excess of water whichthey have been shown to possess during intra-uterine the fetus actually swallows considerable quantities of. Fig. 72.—Completion of the am-nion : ;/, Umbilical vesicle; /, pedicleof the allantois ; a, amniotic cavity. Preyer, Physiologie des Embryos. 94 PREGNANCY. liquor amnii admits of no doubt, for not only have lanugo andepidermis-scales been found in the meconium,1 but also particlesof colored matter which had entered the amniotic fluid from thematernal structures (Zuntz). It is not likely, however, that theLiquor amnii plays an important part in the nutrition of thefetus, as claimed by von Ott and others ; for if it did, the birth ofwell-nourished children with a breach of continuity in the upperpart of the alimentary tract from the mouth to the small intes-tine would be inexplicable. The Composition of the Liquor Amnii.—The amniotic fluid isusually almost clear; occasionally, however, opaque, whitish,greenish, or a dark brown from the presence of meconium, or ofa reddish color when the fetus is macerated. The specific gravityvaries from 1002 to 1028 (Schr
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidtex, booksubjectobstetrics
