Okay so this is an introduction to female reproductive anatomy so the idea of this tutorial
is not to go into huge amounts of detail but to introduce you to some of the basic elements
of the female reproductive tract.
So what we're looking at here is a lateral view of the pelvic viscera, so anteriorly,
we've got the bladder, behind that we've got the female reproductive system, and then behind
that we've got the rectum and the anal canal.
So you can see the location of this reproductive system in relation to the bladder and the
digestive system behind it.
So the main parts that I'm going to talk about are the ovaries (which are the primary female
sex organ), and then you've got the fallopian tubes, or the uterine tubes, as they are also
known, which connect to the uterus, which is this muscular sac, which is where the embryo
develops into a foetus, which develops into a baby.
And then you've got the vagina, which opens up in the perineum.
So if I just rotate the model around, you can have a look from the anterior aspect,
so you've got the uterus, which we are looking at here - you can see the superior portion
of the uterus, which is known as the fundus.
You've got the fallopian tubes, and you've got the ovaries on either side.
So I've just switched to this model here of an isolated view of the female anatomy, so
you can see these white oval shaped structures, which are the ovaries, and as I mentioned
before, they are the primary sex organs of the female.
So they are responsible for producing the female sex cells, or the egg, or the ovum
as it's known.
And this ovum is released monthly, and the process of releasing the ovum from the ovary
is known as ovulation.
So the ovaries are actually suspended in the peritoneal cavity by several ligaments, and
I won't talk about these here, but it's important to know that the ovaries are intraperitoneal
and they release the egg into the peritoneal cavity.
And what happens is that the fallopian tubes have these finger like projections distally,
which are known as fimbriae, so you can see these little finger projections coming off
the distal end of these tubes, which are known as the uterine tubes, and these fimbriae are
responsible for wafting the egg that's released from the ovary into the tube.
So the uterine tube has four parts: it's got an infundibulum, an ampulla an isthmus, and
an intrauterine part.
So as I mentioned before, you've got the fimbriae here, and then the wide distal part is known
as the infundibulum, and then as we come round we've got the ampulla, which is the middle
and longest part of the uterine tube, and it's the most common site for fertilisation
of the egg by the male sperm - so that's an important point to remember.
And then the medial third of the, of the uterine tube, is called the isthmus, and it's the
narrowest part of the tube and it opens up into the uterus.
So where the, where the fallopian tube opens up into the uterus is called the intrauterine
part, so that makes sense - it's inside the uterus and it opens up into the cavity of
the uterus.
So the uterus is this sac-like structure, this hollow organ, which has thick muscular
walls, and as you can see from this lateral view, it lies at this kind of angle to the
vagina.
So coming back to this model, you can see the bladder sitting anteriorly to it, and
the uterus is flexed above it.
So there are three parts to the uterus, you've got the dome-shaped superior part of the uterus,
which is called the fundus, and this part of the uterus lies superiorly to the point
where the uterine tubes enter into the uterus.
And then you've got the bulk of the uterus, which is known as the body, and this is the
main part of the uterus.
And then inferiorly you've got the cervix of the uterus.
So the cervix is the neck of the uterus.
So remember in the vertebrae, you've got the cervical vertebrae, so it just refers to the
vertebrae which are in the neck, so cervix means neck.
So the neck of the uterus protrudes into the vagina inferiorly.
So you've got the fundus, the body and the cervix.
So I've just switched over to a simple cross section of the uterus, and I just wanted to
show you the cervical portion, the cervix of the uterus.
So I've outlined it in green, and it's this narrow inferior portion, and where it opens
up into the vagina, it's called the external os.
So you've got this external opening into the vagina.
And where it opens up into the uterine cavity above, it's called the internal os.
So I've just come over to this nice cross-sectional model and what I want to show you here, is
the way the dome shaped cervix protrudes into the vagina, so you can see this protrusion
here.
So by protruding into the vagina in this way, the cervix creates recesses around it.
So anteriorly you've got this recess here, and posteriorly you've got this recess here,
where the cervix meets the, vaginal wall.
So you've got these pockets around the vagina, and these are known as the fornix.
So you've got an anterior fornix anteriorly, a posterior fornix behind, and you've got
2 lateral fornices.
So in terms of the layers of the uterus, you've got an outer connective tissue layer, which
is called the perimetrium - I'm drawing this on in red here.
And then as you can see from this cross section, you've got a thick middle layer of muscle,
and this is smooth muscle, and it's important during labour for the smooth muscle to contract.
And then lining the cavity of the uterus, you've got the endometrium.
So you've got the endometrium here, the muscle layer I forgot to mention is called the myometrium,
and then like I mentioned before, you've got the perimetrium, which is the outer connective
tissue covering.
So the endometrium, which is the internal mucosal layer, is interesting because it thickens
during the menstrual cycle, and it disintegrates at the onset of menstruation.
So it is under hormonal influence, so it varies in thickness during the menstrual cycle.
So the lower part of the female reproductive tract, is the vagina, and this is a fibromuscular
tube, and as you can see, it lies anterior to the rectum and anal canal, and it lies
behind the bladder, so we can see the bladder here and the urethra here, so those are the
anatomical relationships.
So the vagina runs between the external vaginal orifice, up to the cervix, to the external
os of the cervix, and this internal end of the vagina is known as the vaginal vault.
And just like the uterus, the vagina has three layers, you've got the outer connective tissue
layer, the middle muscular layer and you've got the internal mucosa.
So, rotating this model around, you can see that the pelvic cavity is lined by this flat
sheet of peritoneum which is continuous with the peritoneum from the abdominal cavity above,
and this peritoneum which sort of drapes over the pelvic viscera, is known as the broad
ligament and you've got various other ligaments attaching to the uterus and attaching to the
ovaries, which carry vessels and support the viscera structurally, and I won't talk about
these now, but it's important to be aware of this flat sheet of peritoneum which is
draped over the viscera and it's called the broad ligament.
And this sheet of ligament which is draped over these organs forms various pouches.
So for instance, anteriorly, you've got this little pouch here, called the vesico-uterine
pouch, and posteriorly, you can see how this pouch forms behind the superior end of the
vagina, and this is called the recto-uterine pouch, or the pouch of Douglas.
So just to be aware that this peritoneum drapes over the uterus, and you can see the intraperitoneal
ovary here.
So that's a brief introduction to some of the elements of the female reproductive anatomy.