• The reproductive system is made up of primary and accessory organs.

• The primary sex organs are known as gonads (testes in male, ovaries in female) and
produce sex cells known as gametes.

• The accessory organs include all the ducts, glands, and external genitalia.

• The female reproductive system is far more complex than that of the male, as it not only
needs to produce gametes, but also house and nurture the future embryo.

• The female sex organs include the internal genitalia (ovaries, uterine tubes, uterus, and
vagina) and the external genitalia (mons pubis, labia, clitoris and vestibular structures).

Uterine tubes

• Found only in the female the uterine tubes (fallopian tubes, oviducts) are the paired tubes
that transport the oocyte from the ovary to the possible encounter with sperm cells.

• Fertilization occurs within the uterine tubes and the resulting zygote is conveyed to the
uterus where implantation occurs.

• The uterine tubes are around 10 cm in length and extend medially from the superior pole
of the ovaries to empty in the superolateral aspects of the uterus at the uterine os.

The uterine tubes can be divided into four parts, each of which has its characteristic anatomy
facilitating its physiological role.

Infundibulum

• The infundibulum is the wide, funnel-shaped, distal end of the uterine tubes that is closely
associated with the ovary.

• It has finger-like processes or fimbriae which loosely enclose the ovary; the largest of
them, the ovarian fimbria, is attached to the superior pole of the ovary.

• The fimbriae help to capture the released ovum and the ciliated lining conducts the ovum
towards the ampulla of the tube via the abdominal os.

Ampulla

• The ampulla is the widest and longest part of the uterine tubes, comprising approximately
half of its length.

• It has a thin wall and the lining of the lumen is deeply folded with a small number of major
longitudinal ridges and many more secondary ones.

• It is within the lumen of the ampulla that fertilization generally occurs.

Isthmus

• The muscular and firm isthmus forms the medial third of the uterine tube.

• It has a narrow lumen and although the lining is longitudinally folded, it is much less
complex than the luminal lining of the ampulla.
Intramural part

• The intramural part of the uterine tube is the 1 cm long portion that traverses the uterine
wall.

• It opens into the uterine cavity via the uterine os at the cornu in the superior angle of the
uterus.

Blood supply

• Ovarian arteries.

• Ovarian branches of the uterine arteries.

Venous drainage

• Ovarian veins (to pampiniform plexus).

Innervation

• Ovarian plexus.