OVIDUCT (FALLOPIAN TUBE)

Location: bilaterally from the uterus toward the ovaries. One end is adjacent to the ovary and opens to the peritoneum cavity. The other end communicates with the uterine cavity.

Function: transmission the ova from the ovary to the uterus and providing the necessary environment for fertilization and for initial development of the conceptus.

Anatomic features

• The tube is approximately 10-12 cm long.
• The infundibulum, a funnel-shaped segment of the tube adjacent to the ovary. Fringed extensions, the fimbriae, extend from the mouth toward the ovary.
• The ampulla constitutes about two-thirds the total length, and is the site of fertilization.
• The isthmus is a narrow, medial segment adjacent to the uterus.
• The uterine or intramural part about 1 cm in length lies within the uterine wall and open into the cavity.

MUCOSA

Composition:

• simple columnar epithelium on the basal lamina.

• Ciliated cells

Function: transport of the egg toward the uterus.

• Nonciliated cells

Function: secretion of oviductal fluid that provides nutritive material for the ovum.

• lamina propria, the thin layer of loose connective tissue

MUSCULARIS

Function: peristaltic contractions.

Composition: smooth muscle tissue.

• The inner, relatively thick circular layer.
• The outer, thinner longitudinal layer.

SEROSA

Composition: the thin layer of connective tissue covered by mesothelium.