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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Unpublished paper, 'Ganglia and nerves of the virgin uterus' by Robert Lee

Reference number: AP/30/11

Date: 1846

Description

Lee shares details of recent dissections of virgin and gravid uteruses, coming to the conclusions that there are ganglia situated in the 'muscular coat' of the uterus and that there are plexuses of nerves which accompany all the blood vessels ramifying in its walls between the peritoneum and lining membrane. He suggests that there exists a 'striking analogy' between the ganglia and nerves of the uterus and the heart.

Annotations in pencil throughout.

Subject: Anatomy / Physiology / Neuroscience

Received 5 November 1846.

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 5 of Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London [later Proceedings of the Royal Society] as 'On the ganglia and nerves of the virgin uterus'.

Reference number
AP/30/11
Earliest possible date
1846
Physical description
Ink and graphite pencil on paper
Page extent
7 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

Robert Lee

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Citation

Robert Lee, Unpublished paper, 'Ganglia and nerves of the virgin uterus' by Robert Lee, 1846, AP/30/11, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_30_11/unpublished-paper-ganglia-and-nerves-of-the-virgin-uterus-by-robert-lee, accessed on 17 March 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_30_11/unpublished-paper-ganglia-and-nerves-of-the-virgin-uterus-by-robert-lee

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  • Archived Papers

    The 'Archived Papers' collection is comprised of original manuscript scientific papers and letters submitted to the Royal Society which remained unpublished or were abstracted in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' published from 1830 onwards.

    Dates: 1768 - 1989

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