Paper - The Internal Genital Organs of a Female Foetus of 15 cm Length

Embryology - 24 Apr 2024        Expand to Translate
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Fleming AM. The Internal Genital Organs of a Female Foetus of 15 cm Length (1927) J Anat. 61:232–246. PMID 17104136

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The Internal Genital Organs of a Female Foetus of 15 cm Length

By Amy M. Fleming, B.SC., M.B., CH.B. (Glas.)

From the Pathological Department of the Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women, Glasgow

IN order to reach a true understanding .of the various malformations of the genital tract, it is important to accumulate descriptions of specimens which appear to be normal. Such an investigation has been made upon the internal genital organs of a female foetus of about 4 months’ development, and the results are set forth in the following paper.

When this foetus was obtained, I was making a study of the peripheral innervation of the uterus in certain mammals. This led me to think that a description of the distribution of the nerve-tissue in this specimen might be of value. The specimen was obtained from a patient who died somewhat suddenly from Hyperemesis Gravidarum. The autopsy was carried out less than 12 hours after death. The contents of the pelvis were removed intact. The uterus was then opened, and the foetus extracted. The foetus looked quite fresh, no signs of maceration being evident. From vertex to breech it measured 15 cm. The pelvic bones and lower part of the vertebral column Were dissected out carefully, and without damage to the contents of the foetal pelvis. The peritoneal cavity was then opened from in front, and the foetus divided across a short distance proximal to the internal genital organs. Unnecessary portions of the anterior abdominal wall and of the muscles of the back were then removed, leaving as complete a block as possible of the organs within the lower abdomen and pelvis. This block was fixed in Kaiserling’s formalin solution, and a complete series of 2872 paraffin sections each 10 microns thick was prepared. These are numbered from the cranial extremity backwards. While the unsectioned block was in xylol, the vessels and other structures showed up so beautifully that a freehand drawing was made of the upper part of the specimen at this stage (fig. 1). The block includes the rectum posteriorly, the bladder anteriorly (portions only of the ureter being distinct on either side), and between these the genital organs. The ovaries are shaped like bay leaves, lying with their long axes horizontal. They lie proximal to and immediately above the Fallopian tubes. They extend from just within the upturned lateral end of the tube to a short distance medial to the opening of the tube into that portion of the uterus which will form the future body. The anterior surface, as indicated in the drawing, is not smooth, but shows a horizontal groove, from which side branches run as shallow sulci towards the proximal and distal borders. The tube on either side passes out from the uterus to terminate in a curve around the lateral extremity of the ovary. In its course it is thrown into small rounded curves encountered in all planes. Relative to its length, the duct is narrower than is the adult Fallopian tube. Other details will be described later.

The drawing shows that the utero-vaginal tube consists of a long cylindrical portion a little narrower than the rectum surmounted by a short broader part which widens out proximally, and which laterally is continued into the tubes. On the cranial extremity of the upper portion a shallow medial sulcus is seen, but no evidence of the presence of a sulcus is found on the anterior surface. There is no indication on the external surface whether the line of demarcation between the distal narrow and the proximal wide portion corresponds to the dividing line between the future body and the cervix, or between the cervix and the vagina.

The blood vessels show up particularly well. On the right-hand side, the loose tissue in which they lie had been slightly damaged during the manipulations of the block, and as a result the proximal portions of the Vessels were displaced outwards. For this reason, their course is not shown in the drawing. With the exception of a few reserved for special staining methods, the sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Microscopically the preservation is good.

A flat reconstruction of the genital tract (fig. 2) shows its outline, the lumen being indicated by a dotted line. Remnants of Gartner’s ducts, in those parts of their course near to the utero-vaginal canal and to the tubal portion of the uterus, are seen. The tubes are long and narrow, and show the multiple curves already mentioned, but naturally only those apparent in one plane. The free end of the tube has a fimbriated extremity. Its opening faces posteriorly. From the margins of the opening strands of connective tissue are continued laterally in the edge of the mesosalpinx and also towards the ovary. At the other end, the tubes enlarge to form the tubal portion of the body of the uterus. In the reconstruction, the sulcus or the cranial extremity of the uterus at this stage of development is 0-4 mm. deep.

There is no median septum in the cavity. The formation of a single roughly symmetrical uterine cavity has kept pace with the union of the tubes to form the tubal portion of the body of the uterus. The unpaired portion of the generative tract is at this stage divisible into three portions. (1) The most proximal part is somewhat triangular in form, its base forming the future fundus of the uterus. (2) A cylindrical portion with thicker walls and a narrower cavity. (3) A long portion narrower in its proximal than in its distal half and possessing a relatively thin wall. The opening of this portion into the urogenital sinus is still closed by a solid mass of tissue. No sharp line of demarcation is present between these three portions. In length their cavities measure approximately 1-4 mm., 2-8 mm., and 5-6 mm. respectively. Diagrams illustrating the contour of a section from each of these three portions are seen in

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Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, April 24) Embryology Paper - The Internal Genital Organs of a Female Foetus of 15 cm Length. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Paper_-_The_Internal_Genital_Organs_of_a_Female_Foetus_of_15_cm_Length

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