Female Reproductive System

Examine the photograph of the female reproductive system and try to trace the path the egg/small rat would follow to the outside world. Begin with the ovary located just posterior and lateral to the kidney. Note the fat filled membrane that lies along much of the system. This is the broad ligament. Caudally the fat filled round ligament extends perpendicular to the broad ligament. Both ligaments support the reproductive structures.

The egg is released from the ovary into the ovarian bursa, a sac-like extension of the oviduct and broad ligament that completely surrounds the ovary. The egg is then directed toward the small convoluted oviduct and into the uterine horns, where development will occur. The uterine horns remain separate as they pass through the muscular body of the uterus, and open into the vagina. During birth the small rat will pass from the uterine horns into the vagina before entering the outside world.

Click on the ovary on the left side of the image for a close-up view of the structures at the cranial portion of the female reproductive system and to test your knowledge. Back

Click on the body uterus to test your knowledge of the relationship between structures at the caudal portion of the reproductive and urinary systems. Back

Click to examine the relationsip between the clitoral glands and the urethra

Click to examine the external orifices of the urogenital and digestive systems. Back

Back to tutorial