Female Reproductive Anatomy

Question 1

What is theriogenology?

Answer 1

Discipline in vet med dealing with all aspects of reproduction.

Question 2

What is important to remember about the mucosa along the female repro tract?

Answer 2

There are different types all the way down.

Question 3

What should you be able to do with a bovine uterus on rectal palp and why?

Answer 3

Flip the uterus up to palpate the entire length because it has a very lose broad ligament.

Question 4

Roughly where are the ovaries located in a bovine?

Answer 4

Usually around the level of the cervix.

Question 5

What species has a similar repro tract to cows?

Answer 5

Sheep and goats (small ruminants)

Question 6

What is a characteristic difference in a sow?

Answer 6

Corkscrew cervix

Question 7

Why does a sow have such huge uterine horns?

Answer 7

Need room for 10-16 piglets in a litter.

Question 8

What is a major difference between a mare and a cow?

Answer 8

Mare has a very tight broad ligament (think long horn shaped)

Question 9

What cell type is in the vestibule?

Answer 9

Ectoderm

Question 10

What cell type is beyond the vestibule (cranial vaginal, cervix)?

Answer 10

Mesoderm

Question 11

What comprises the placentome?

Answer 11

Caruncles and cotyledons

Question 12

What is the maternal portion of a placentome?

Answer 12

Caruncle

Question 13

What is the fetal portion of a placentome?

Answer 13

Cotyledon

Question 14

Describe an equine uterus.

Answer 14

Big uterine body with chubby uterine horns.

Question 15

In a mare, what will get looser or tighter depending on the hormones?

Answer 15

Longitudinal folds in the cervix.

*Tight with PG, loose with Estrogen

Question 16

Describe the uterus in the bitch.

Answer 16

Tiny uterine body with long uterine horns.

Question 17

What do dogs have around their uterus that you need to be aware of during a spay?

Answer 17

Lots of fat, need to make sure you’ve gotten the ovaries out.

Question 18

What species has a “pillowy vagina”?

Answer 18

Canine

Question 19

If you’re taking cytology from a bitch, where do you take the cells from?

Answer 19

Closer to the cervix.

Question 20

What can you see in a uterine horn of a queen that has had a litter?

Answer 20

Placental scars

Question 21

What is a difference between cow and ewe circulation?

Answer 21

Bovine uterus can work with just one side, the ewe needs both sides.

Question 22

What does the mare need in order to get the full signal that she’s pregnant?

Answer 22

The fetus needs to move around all over the uterus.

Question 23

List the structures in the ovary in chronological order.

Answer 23

Primordial follicles
Primary follicles
Secondary follicles
Developing antral (tertiary) follicle
Antral (dominant) follicle
Ovulating follicle
Corpus luteum

Question 24

What happens to primary follicles?

Answer 24

Develop into secondary follicles, or degenerate

Question 25

What is a primary follicle?

Answer 25

Oocyte surrounded by single layer of cuboidal cells.

Question 26

What is a secondary follicle?

Answer 26

Oocyte surrounded by more than one layer of cells, but no cavity (antrum)

Question 27

What structure do we see in the secondary follicle?

Answer 27

Zona pellucida

Question 28

What structure do we see in the tertiary (developing antral) follicle?

Answer 28

Antrum, filled with follicular fluid

Question 29

What happens to tertiary follicles?

Answer 29

Develop into Graffian/dominant follicle or degenerate

Question 30

What stage of follicle development is often palpable?

Answer 30

Tertiary follicle/Developing antral follicle

Question 31

What happens to the dominant follicle?

Answer 31

May ovulate or degenerate.

Question 32

What structure are we looking for when an animal is ready to ovulate? (Hint: it can be palpated and seen with the naked eye)

Answer 32

Dominant follicle

Question 33

What is the name for a degenerating CL?

Answer 33

Corpus albicans

Question 34

What path does the follicle take to get from the ovary to the uterus?

Answer 34

Infundibulum > Ampulla > Isthmus > Uterine horn

Question 35

What is the role of the infundibulum?

Answer 35

To capture the egg and pass it down to the ostium of the ampulla.

Question 36

What part of the uterine horn has the greatest surface area?

Answer 36

The ampulla

Question 37

Which part of the uterine horn is thick and muscular to help push sperm up towards the egg?

Answer 37

The isthmus

Question 38

Which part of the uterine horn is thick and muscular to help push sperm up towards the egg?

Answer 38

The isthmus

Question 39

Where does fertilization occur?

Answer 39

At the ampullar-isthmus junction

Question 40

Where does fertilization occur?

Answer 40

At the ampullar-isthmus junction

Question 41

What is odd about the mare ovary?

Answer 41

It is inverted so follicles move INTO the ovary.

*NOTE: You should NOT be able to palpate a CL because of this.

Question 42

What is a duplex uterus?

Answer 42

Two cervices

Question 43

What species have a duplex uterus (two cervices)?

Answer 43

Marsupials and rabbits

Question 44

What is a bicornuate uterus?

Answer 44

Has two uterine horns

Question 45

What species have a bicornuate uterus?

Answer 45

Equine, bovine, canine, feline and porcine.

Question 46

What two species have poorly to moderately developed uterine horns?

Answer 46

Bovine and equine.

Question 47

What three species have highly developed uterine horns?

Answer 47

Canine, feline and porcine.

Question 48

What is a simplex uterus?

Answer 48

No uterine horns.

Question 49

What species has a simplex uterus?

Answer 49

Primates