1.

The OVIDUCT, in general, is a little more than a tubule with an opening from the
peritoneal cavity to the exterior connected with the development of the ovum
and its surrounding structures
2. There are various types of cell modification the ovum while it is in the oviduct in
the sense that coverings are put over them shells of various kinds
The shell covering can be soft & flexible or hard
Aquatic forms can have soft & flexible shells
In ANAMNIOTES there are some differences too
The shells covering the eggs are laid.
In reptiles, The shell may be quite hard because it needs to
maintain the moisture inside or it may be somewhat soft
especially if the environment in which the eggs are placed are in
a moist situation
The earliest of mammals are still egg layers like the duck billed platypus
What makes animals mammals are not egg vs non egg but
mammillary glands
In mammalian forms, the oviduct or MELLURIAN DUCT, is more
just a tube with modification gland secretions that form shells
There is differentiation that occurs along the way of the fallopian
tube

***** The reptilians of today and those that are also extinct developed from cotylosaurs.
These cotylosaurs gave rise to two groups. The diapsid and others that lead to
mammalian form *****
1. The FALLOPIAN TUBE begins with an expanded INFUNDIBULUM
This lets the oocyte go into the lumen and start its journey down
In many of the mammals, the infundibulum is in close proximity
to the surface of the ovary, so at ovulation the oocyte can find its
way into the lumen and then down the tube without getting lost
in the peritoneal cavity and resulting in ectopic pregnancy
Most of the time fertilization occurs out there in the
peritoneal cavity, it doesnt get far ectopic pregnancy
In mammals, the fallopian tube is not just a straight tube to the exterior
but it is a modified tube

1. FALLOPIAN TUBE VS UTERUS:
The beginning of the oviduct is for transportation of the oocyte from the
peritoneal cavity down to the uterus
The uterus is the place where implantation in the uterine wall occurs.
The oocyte is now a zygote
The ovaries and the oviducts are paired on either side of the uterus. So
they are on the outside of the uterus
The uterine forms vary depending on how many developing embryos are
in it.
Therefore the uterus has extensions towards the ovary, these
extensions are often referred to as horns. They are lateral
extensions in animals that have 4 or 5 young at the same time to
make more uterine room for them
In mammals that have one young, there are no horns
The uterus is a single body midline structure with the fallopian
tube entering the uterus from right and left.
The cranial end of the uterus is called SIMPLEX UTERUS
meaning no extensions or horns

1. Fertilization occurs in the upper part of the oviduct, not in the peritoneal cavity
Depositing sperm in the vagina results in the spermatozoa swimming up
through the secretions produced by the wall of the uterus. Some of the
spermatozoa go up the oviducts
If fertilization occurs, it occurs the upper half or third of the
oviduct assuming the oocyte is on its way down
The oocyte on its way down, prior to fertilization, still has a few of those
follicle cells surrounding it
The musculature in the wall of the oviduct and the cilia on the
inner luminal lining are pushing the oocyte down the oviduct
At the time the oocyte is going down the oviduct, the spermatozoa is
coming in the other direction. They are moving under their own
influence with the elongated tail-like structure pushing them
At the time of fertilization, a single spermatozoa will push its way
through the plasma membrane of the oocyte only if it could push its way
through the remaining follicular cells on the outside of the oocyte
Immediately after this occurrence, the ovum sets up a series of
physiological changes which prevent other spermatozoa from
pushing their way into the ovum cytoplasm
The ovum blocks the other sperm, so only one sperm can get in
Once the sperm is in the cytoplasm of the ovum, that is when the meiotic
activity of the ovum is completed and this gives off the second polar body
Now the ovum is haploid and the sperm and ovum can merge
into a diploid cell
The sperm became haploid back in the seminiferous tubules of
the testes
The oocyte begins meiosis after ovulation but does not complete
it. The first polar body is kicked off way back in the ovary
So after ovulation, the oocyte is still diploid
When the spermatozoa haploid enters the ovum kicks off the
second polar body and now the oocyte is haploid and the two
haploids join and the zygote is formed for the new individual.

1. As the zygote is pushed down toward the uterus, the hormones that were
produced in the ovary during the corpus luteum development cause changes in
the cycle of the uterine lining
The uterine line is called the ENDOMETRIUM
The inner lining is known as the ENDOMETRIAL lining
Further going out is SMOOTH MUSCLE that will be developing more
during pregnancy so that at birth, the MYOMETRIUM is very active in the
birth process and pushes the fetus to become a newborn
There is also an outermost CONNECTIVE TISSUE of the uterus as well
On a regular basis, the endometrium prepares for the arrival of a zygote
But if there is not a new one arriving at a cycle, the endometrium
for the most part is shed as part of the menstrual flow
This rebuilds in the human roughly every 28 days in preparation
for the arrival of the fertilized ovum
Once the zygote arrives in the uterus it attaches itself to the
endometrium biochemically
The zygote develops its own circulatory system which does not
directly connect with the uterine circulatory system but becomes
close to it
They are in close junction with each other specially in the
later stages of pregnancy when the placenta is formed

1. The rest of the early oviduct that continues on to exterior is in junction with a
place in which exiting is going to occur in mammalian forms
The terminal part of the reproductive system is not paired as it is in
beginning, it is unpaired
This is typically a simple uterus with or without horns and then
the exit to exterior
The exit to the exterior meaning to the vestibule between the
urogenital sinus is the vagina within which sperm is deposited
and then make their way up into the uterus
The neck of the uterus, cervix, extends slightly into the deeper part of the
vagina
The vaginal surface is modified for copulation (sex) which is different
from the uterus which is modified for continuation of pregnancy

1. The lining of the REPRODUCTIVE DUCTS continuously produce various kinds of
moist secretions. These secretions are not necessarily lubricating secretions for
the passageway of spermatozoa or oocytes. They are glandular secretions
Secretions in the oviduct
The glands are not big bulky ones, they are more unicellular or
multicellular
The glandular secretions also occur in the female further on beyond the
uterus but for lubricating purposes and to maintain adequate moisture

1. With the mammalian male, there are glands in addition to serous secreting
glands
The PROSTATE GLAND is a relatively large gland that is roughly the size
of a walnut
The urethra enters through the prostate gland on its way
towards the membranous part and ultimately the penile part of
the urethra
The prostate gland secretes and appreciate amount of fluid that
makes up an appreciable amount of the ejaculate
In addition the prostate glands, there are paired glands that are prior to
the prostate gland as the two ductus deferens come together at the
urethra
The vas or ductuse deferens come in and join the male urethra
at the basal end of the prostate gland
Sometimes those deferens ducts go through a little of the
prostate to get to the urethra
On either side of the prostate are two large glands known as the
SEMINAL VESICLES
These are the paired glands
They are secretory structures that send their contribution into
the fluid when the spermatozoa are going by
The secretions from these glands are joined by the prostate
secretions at the time of ejaculation
The single prostate gland traversed by the urethra, the paired
seminal vesicles each joining a ductus deferens coming left and
right into the penile urethra.
In many mammals, there are a couple set of paired glands that enter
their short ducts into the membranous urethra
These are referred to as the BULBO-URETHRAL GLANDS
They are much smaller than the seminal vesicles or the
prostate gland
They make a minor contribution to the ejaculate that is carried
out
They are located at the inner most part of the penis which is
bulbular in size
These glands along with the single cell glands all the way along the length of the male
duct passageways contribute to the ejaculate containing the spermatozoa sent out to the
exterior.