of which all the others are but branches; and then the
heart, for the liver furnisheth the arteries with blood to form the
heart, the arteries being made of seed, but the heart and the flesh, of
blood. After this the brain is formed, and then the nerves to give sense
and motion to the infant. Afterwards the bones and flesh are formed; and
of the bones, first of all, the vertebrae or chine bones, and then the
skull, etc. As to the time in which this curious part of nature's
workmanship is formed, having already in Chapter II of the former part
of this work spoken at large upon this point, and also of the
nourishment of the child in the womb, I shall here only refer the reader
thereto, and proceed to show the manner in which the child lies in the
womb.

SECT. III.--_Of the manner of the Child's lying in the Womb._

This is a thing so essential for a midwife to know, that she can be no
midwife who is ignorant of it; and yet even about this authors
extremely differ; for there are not two in ten that agree what is the
form that the child lies in the womb, or in what fashion it lies there;
and yet this may arise in a great measure from the different times of
the women's pregnancy; for near the time of its deliverance out of those
winding chambers of nature it oftentimes changes the form in which it
lay before, for another.

I will now show the several situations of the child in the mother's
womb, according to the different times of pregnancy, by which those that
are contrary to nature, and are the chief cause of ill labours, will be
more easily conceived by the understanding midwife. It ought, therefore,
in the first place to be observed, that the infant, as well male as
female, is generally situated in the midst of the womb; for though
sometimes, to appearance a woman's belly seems higher on one side than
the other, yet it is so with respect to the belly only, and not to her
womb, in the midst of which it is always placed.

But, in the second place, a woman's great belly makes different figures,
according to the different times of pregnancy; for when she is young
with child, the embryo is always found of a round figure, a little long,
a little oblong, having the spine moderately turned inwards, and the
thighs folded, and a little raised, to which the legs are so raised,
that the heels touch the buttocks; the arms are bending, and the hands
placed upon the knees, towards which part of the body, the head is
turned dow