Female reproductive system

Commentary
Female reproductive system

Image 1: Bodleian, MS Ashmole 399, fol. 13v (England, late 13th century)
Image 2: Wellcome MS 49, fol. 37v (Germany, c. 1420)

While the uterus diagram of Ashmole 399 looks similar to our modern diagrams of the uterus (see below), such as those found in biology textbooks or tampon instructions, the corresponding image in the 15th-century Wellcome manuscript is more abstract as it is completely schematic. For more on this image, see the blog post by Sarah Griffin in 'external links'.

The annotations contain transcriptions of the Latin labels of Ashmole 399. 

ashmole-fig11.jpg

Diagram of the bicornate uterus (left) and simplex uterus (right), source.