The oviducts play a very important role in the fertilization process and the survival of the embryo before implanting in the uterus. The fallopian tubes have many functions to fulfill, but they are also prone to various diseases. Find out what the structure of the fallopian tubes looks like, what their functions are and what their diseases are related to.
Contents:
- Egovody: construction
- Eggs: functions
- Eggs: diseases
The oviductslook like trumpets with a characteristic finger-like extension at one end. The fallopian tubes run inside the upper edge of the broad ligament and open into the peritoneal cavity near the ovaries. Each fallopian tube is approximately 10 cm long and one centimeter wide.
The ovaries take the eggs released from the ovaries and carry them to the uterus.
They are also the place where the egg is fertilized by the male reproductive cell, i.e. the sperm.
They also allow the ovum to enter the uterus from the ovaries, because they are the link between these organs. But their role does not end there.
Egovody: construction
The right fallopian tube lies near the appendix, the left one - the sigmoid colon, i.e. one of the sections of the large intestine. Both are wrapped in a peritoneum that protects them. The wall of the fallopian tube is constructed to facilitate adoption and safe transfer of the egg into the uterine cavity for implantation.
The wall of the fallopian tube consists of three layers, these are:
- outer serous membrane
- muscle membrane
- mucosa
The layer of smooth muscle in the wall of the fallopian tube makes it possible to perform rhythmic contractions that move towards the uterus. It is these movements that allow the egg or embryo to travel through the fallopian tubes towards the uterus.
The walls of the fallopian tube are lined with cells equipped with cilia, tiny brush-like projections that "sweep" the egg towards the uterus.
Cells without cilia lying in the deep crypts of the inner lining of the fallopian tubes produce a secretion to nourish the egg and sperm that have wandered here during their journey through the fallopian tube.
The production of fallopian fluid begins even before ovulation, i.e. ovulation. The fluid resembles blood serum. It is rich in potassium, chloride as wellimmunoglobulins, which are food for the embryo or the egg.
The lining of the fallopian tubes is influenced by hormones produced by the ovary and its activity depends on the phase of the menstrual cycle. For example, progesterone increases the amount of mucus produced.
Anatomically each fallopian tube is divided into four parts:
- Funnel- this is the part closest to the ovary. Its shape resembles a funnel, but its edges are jagged. Therefore, they are called fallopian tube hyphae. Hyphae wrap around the ovaries and float in the abdomen. The longest of the hyphae connects to the surface of the ovary by the funnel-ovarian ligament. This makes it possible to capture the egg that has been produced and then released from the ovary and insert it into the fallopian tube.
- The bulbis the longest, widest and thickest part of the fallopian tube. This is where the egg is fertilized most often.
- The Straitis the short and narrow part. It has thick walls. It happens that this is where the embryo can get stuck and the tubal pregnancy develops, which may result in rupture of the fallopian tube.
- The uterine partis the shortest section of the fallopian tube. It is a fragment of the fallopian tube already in the wall of the uterus and penetrating its cavity, i.e. delivering the embryo to the implantation site.
The fallopian tubes have very rich vascularization that comes from the ovarian and uterine arteries. These vessels come together to form arterial arches. The vein system that collects blood from the fallopian tube is a mirror image of that of the arteries that supply the fallopian tube.
Eggs: functions
The oviducts transport the egg from the moment of capturing it after ovulation to delivering the embryo to the uterus. They are also responsible for nourishing the egg during this journey.
For fertilization to occur, the fallopian tubes also support the movement of sperm towards the ovary and egg, and the secretory cells nourish the male gametes.
They provide them with such an environment that the so-called sperm capacitation, i.e. their conditioning for the fertilization of the egg. This is an important function of the fallopian tubes because, when it leaves the male organism, the sperm cannot fertilize the cell. He has to learn this in the fallopian tube.
The process of sperm treatment involves, among other things, changes in the structure and chemical composition of the sperm cell membrane that allow it to penetrate into the egg cell.
Eggs: diseases
- Tubal inflammation
What is commonly referred to as inflammation of the ovary is in fact almost always inflammationfallopian tube. Inflammation is usually accompanied by bilateral pains in the lower abdomen, which are asymmetrical and may radiate to the groin and even to the thigh or the lumbar region. Sometimes a high fever occurs.
Inflammation of the fallopian tubes is usually caused by infections ascending from the vagina or from the uterus. Common causes of the disease are infections with gonorrhea and chlamydia.
Inflammation of the ovary affects the outer shell of the ovary. A typical symptom of salpingitis is stinging or continuous pain in the lower abdomen, around the appendages. Additional symptoms of the disease include profuse vaginal discharge, bleeding, constipation, colic, nausea, vomiting, difficulty urinating, increased body temperature.
- Obstruction of the fallopian tubes
This is one of the most common causes of infertility. There are no characteristic symptoms of obstruction of the fallopian tubes. Usually, it is only detected during the diagnosis, when there are difficulties in getting pregnant.
Often the cause of obstruction is adhesions that form after inflammation.
They are also favored by procedures performed in the area of the fallopian tubes (not necessarily gynecological), in the area of the smaller pelvis, but also in the abdominal cavity.
The obstruction of the fallopian tubes is also threatened by endometriosis, a disease that causes the mucosa of the uterus to appear in other organs, such as the fallopian tubes, which can literally clog.
- Tubal hygroma
Develops when the outflow of liquid content in the fallopian tube is blocked. Accumulating fluid causes swelling.
- Tubal abscess
If the content blocked in the fallopian tube is purulent, it is not a hydrocele but an empyema of the fallopian tube.
- Tubal hematoma
Develops when blood flow is blocked in the fallopian tube.
- Fallopian tube cancer
Cancer of the fallopian tube is a rare malignant neoplasm that is difficult to detect, and is bilateral in 10-27% of cases.
Also readThe miracle of conception, or everything about fertilization
Fetal development: how the fetus develops week by week
Fallopian tube obstruction and infertility: causes and treatment
About the author
Anna Jarosz A journalist who has been involved in popularizing he alth education for over 40 years. Winner of many competitions for journalists dealing with medicine and he alth. She received, among others The "Golden OTIS" Trust Award in the "Media and He alth" category, St. Kamil awarded on the occasion of the World Day of the Sick, twice "Crystal Pen" ina nationwide competition for journalists promoting he alth and many awards and distinctions in competitions for the "Medical Journalist of the Year" organized by the Polish Association of Journalists for He alth.
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