Wolffian duct

Wolffian duct

Infobox Embryology
Name = PAGENAME
Latin = d. mesonephricus, d. Wolffi
GraySubject = 252
GrayPage = 1205


Caption = Urogenital sinus of female human embryo of eight and a half to nine weeks old.


Caption2 = Transverse section of a chick embryo of forty-five hours’ incubation.
System =
Days = 28
CarnegieStage = 11
Precursor = intermediate mesoderm
GivesRiseTo = ureteric bud
MeshName =
MeshNumber =
DorlandsPre = d_29
DorlandsSuf = 12314957
The Wolffian duct (also known as archinephric duct, Leydig's duct, mesonephric duct, or nephric duct) is a paired organ found in mammals including humans during embryogenesis.

It connects the primitive kidney Wolffian body (or "mesonephros") to the cloaca and serves as the anlage for certain male reproductive organs.

Development

In both the male and the female the Wolffian duct develops in to the trigone of urinary bladder, a part of the bladder wall. However, further development differentiates between the sexes in the development of the urinary and reproductive organs.

Male development

In a male, it develops into a system of connected organs between the testis and the prostate, namely the rete testis, the efferent ducts, the epididymis, the vas deferens, the seminal vesicle, and the prostate.

For this it is critical that the ducts are exposed to testosterone during embryogenesis. Testosterone binds to and activates androgen receptor, affecting intracellular signals and modifying the expression of numerous genes.cite journal |author=Hannema SE, Print CG, Charnock-Jones DS, Coleman N, Hughes IA |title=Changes in gene expression during Wolffian duct development |journal=Horm. Res. |volume=65 |issue=4 |pages=200–9 |year=2006 |pmid=16567946 |doi=10.1159/000092408]

In the mature male, the function of this system is to store and mature sperm, and provide accessory semen fluid.

Female development

In the female, in the absence of testosterone support, the Wolffian ducts regresses, and inclusions may persist. The epoophoron and Skene's glands may be present. Also, lateral to the wall of the vagina a Gartner's duct or cyst could develop as a remnant.

History

It is named after Caspar Friedrich Wolff who described the mesonephros and its ducts in his dissertation in 1759. [WhoNamedIt|synd|2845]


=Additional

See also

* Fetal genitalia
* List of homologues of the human reproductive system
* Masculinization
* Sexual differentiation
* Müllerian duct

References

External links

*


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wolffian duct — Wolffian Wolff i*an, a. (Anat.) Discovered, or first described, by Caspar Friedrich Wolff (1733 1794), the founder of modern embryology. [1913 Webster] {Wolffian body}, the mesonephros. {Wolffian duct}, the duct from the Wolffian body. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wolffian duct — n the duct of the mesonephros that persists in the female chiefly as part of the epoophoron and in the male as the duct system leaving the testis and including the epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle, and ejaculatory duct called also Leydig …   Medical dictionary

  • wolffian duct — noun Usage: often capitalized W Etymology: wolffian (II) : mesonephric duct * * * (sometimes l.c.) Embryol. a duct, draining the mesonephros of the embryo, that becomes the vas deferens in males and vestigial in females. [1875 80; named after K.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Wolffian duct — (sometimes l.c.) Embryol. a duct, draining the mesonephros of the embryo, that becomes the vas deferens in males and vestigial in females. [1875 80; named after K. F. WOLFF; see IAN] * * * ▪ kidney anatomy also called  Archinephric Duct,  … …   Universalium

  • Wolffian duct — /wʊlfiən ˈdʌkt/ (say woolfeeuhn dukt) noun an organ found in embryonic mammals, persisting as the ureter in females, and the urinogenital duct in males of lower vertebrates and as the genital duct in males of higher vertebrates; mesonephric duct …  

  • Wolffian duct — noun Etymology: Kaspar Friedrich Wolff Date: 1876 the duct of the mesonephros that persists in the female chiefly as part of a vestigial organ and in the male as the duct system leaving the testis and including the epididymis, vas deferens,… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Wolffian duct — the mesonephric duct into which urine drains from the mesonephric tubules and which also serves in many fishes for sperm transport. In females these ducts open into the urogenital sinus …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • Wolffian duct — noun a paired organ found in mammals including humans during embryogenesis …   Wiktionary

  • Wolffian duct — see mesonephros …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • Wolffian duct structures — adj. embryonic structures (named after Kaspar Friedrich Wolff) that develop into the interior reproductive systerm of the male attached to the testicles …   English contemporary dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”