Read in the Section on Obstetrics and Diseases of Women, May, 1884.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen.
—The aim of all investigation should be the attainment of truth. And, in order that the discussion of any scientific question should be profitable, it is essential that the arguments advanced be based upon known facts. Any process of reasoning without such foundation is presumptuous, if not impertinent. In deference to this plain and just principle I shall abstain from making any assertion, or educing any inference not fairly warranted by the observations of trustworthy investigators.
In the year 1673, De Graaf, a Dutch anatomist, described, in connection with the anatomy of the ovaries the bodies which have since borne his name. They were thought to be the ova of mammalia, and this belief obtained for many years. Sir Edward Home noticed the ruptured follicle during menstruation, but attached no importance to the coincidence.