This universally present structure in childbirth has had little, if any, recent investigation. The older writers on obstetric practice and midwifery often failed even to mention the cord, other than its presence and how to ligate and sever it, which leads us to believe that little, if any, serious consideration or significance was attached to its structure. Further, in the works on obstetrics that embody the physiology, pathology and embryology of more recent date, there will be found little new, other than the accepted facts of long standing regarding the twists or spirals present in the cord, its length, the tensile strength, and a brief description of its formation, function and embryonic development. Occasional abnormalities are mentioned, such as knots and abnormal attachments of the cord to the placenta. When more recent investigation and attention was brought to bear on the placenta, its structure and functions, the funis, or naval