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Comparative Anatomy

  • Chapter
Biology of the Uterus

Abstract

In this brief consideration of some of the comparative aspects of the mammalian uterus, it is important to keep in mind that this organ develops from a pair of completely mesodermal tubes called, variously, mullerian, paramesonephric, or female ducts (see Nomina Anatomica, 5th ed., 1983). The whole female internal genital system of eutherian (“placental”) mammals, with the probable exception of the vagina, is basically double—two ovaries, two oviducts, and two uteri. The vagina is completely paired in monotremes and marsupials and has been reported to be partially divided by a longitudinal septum in one genus of bat (Hipposideros) (Karim, 1973), in the plains viscacha (Lagostomus) (Weir, 1971), and in the immature of some baleen whales (Mysticeti) (Ohsumi, 1969); otherwise, it is single in Eutheria. In most mammals, the vagina is joined by the urethra. Together they open into a common tube, the definitive urogenital sinus or vaginal vestibule, which connects both to the surface. Often this vestibule is nearly as long as the vagina proper. However, in woman it is represented by only the shallow space between the two labia minora.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA

    Harland W. Mossman

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  1. Harland W. Mossman
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA

    Ralph M. Wynn M.D. (Professor) (Professor)

  2. Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA

    Ralph M. Wynn M.D. (Professor) (Professor)

  3. Department of Anatomy, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA

    William P. Jollie Ph.D. (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

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© 1989 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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Mossman, H.W. (1989). Comparative Anatomy. In: Wynn, R.M., Jollie, W.P. (eds) Biology of the Uterus. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5589-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5589-2_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-5591-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-5589-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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