Hope you are fine and have completed the previous articles related to Veterinary Comparative Anatomy. Today, I am going to discuss the comparative anatomy of female genital organs from different animals. If you want to learn about the structure and differences of female genital organs among animal species, please continue reading. Hope this article will help you understand the comparative anatomy of female genital organs. Okay, let’s start learning.
You may already know the basics of male genital anatomy. For this article, focus on the main anatomical features of female organs as we compare them across species.
Here, I am going to compare the anatomical structures of different organs from the female genital system based on the most important features. You should compare more anatomical features for a deeper understanding.
Comparative Anatomy of the female genital system
To start, we will learn about the comparative anatomy of the following organs of the female genital system.
- Comparative anatomy of the ovary from different animals (especially from the ox, sheep, goat, horse, and dog)
- Comparative anatomy of the uterus
- Comparative anatomy of the vagina
- Comparative anatomy of the mammary gland
With these organs in mind, let’s start the comparison process.
Comparative anatomy of the ovary of different animals
To begin, we will consider the following important features to compare ovarian anatomy from different animals (such as ox, sheep, goat, horse, and dog):
Shape of the ovary
- Oval in ox and almond-shaped in goat
- Bean-shaped in a horse
- Small, elongated or oval, flattened in the dog.
Ovulation fossa
- Only present in the case of a horse
Tubal (cranial) and uterine (caudal) extremities of the ovary
- Rounded and pointed in the case of the ox, the rest of the animal has rounded extremities.
Location of the ovary in different animals (important)
- Middle of the lateral margin of the pelvic inlet, cranial to the external iliac artery
- Sublambar area, ventral to the 4th or 5th lumbar vertebrae; contact with the lumbar wall of the abdomen in the horse
- In a dog, the caudal pole of the corresponding kidney, and thus lies opposite to the 3rd or 4th lumbar vertebrae.
Okay, you may also learn from the table below –
| Features | Ox, sheep & goat | Horse | Dog |
| Shape | Oval (ox), almond (goat) | Bean shaped | Small & elongatedOval & flattened |
| Size | Length 3 -4 cmWidth 2 cmThickness 1.5 cm | Length 7 -8 cm thickness 3 -4 cm | Length 2 cm |
| Weight | 15 – 20 gm | 70 – 80 gm | 0.5 – 1 gm |
| Ovulation fossa | Absent | Present | Absent |
| Tubal & caudal ends | Rounded and pointed (ox)Rounded (goat) | Rounded | Rounded |
| Location | Middle of lateral margin of pelvic inlet, cranial to external iliac artery | Sublambar area, ventral to 4th or 5th lumbar vertebrae; contact with lumbar wall of abdomen | Caudal pole of corresponding kidney and thus lies opposite to 3rd or 4th lumbar vertebrae |
| Attachment of broad ligament | Not attached sublumbar Attached to dorsal part of flank – about one handbreadth ventral to level of coxal tuber (lateral wall of abdomen) | Sublumabr region | Sublumbar region |
Comparative anatomy of the uterus from different animals
We will consider the most important features to compare the anatomy of the uterus from different animals –
Horn structures
- Extensive and tapped gradually to free end in ox, sheep, and goat
- The cylindrical and cranial ends are blunt in the horse.
- Extremely long and appears as a large V-shaped in a dog
Body of the uterus
- Dorsoventrally flatten in ox, sheep, and goat.
- Cylindrical and flattened dorso-ventrally in the horse, also
- The body is very short in a dog.
- Endometrium caruncles are present in ox, sheep, and goat.
Cervix
- A very thick cervical canal is narrow, and the presence of a spiral fold of the mucous membrane is found in ox, sheep, and goat.
- The cervical canal is straight, and the presence of a simple plug of mucous membrane in a horse.
- The presence of a thick muscular coat and cervix is simple in appearance in the case of a dog
Okay, let’s learn from the table below –
| Features | Ox, sheep & goat | Horse | Dog |
| Horn | Extensive spiral muscular tubeTapper gradually to free end | Cylindrical Cranial extremity is blunt | Extremely long Appears as large V (not tapper) |
| Body | In abdominal and pelvic | ||
| Dorsoventrally flat tubeLaterally attached with broad ligament | Abdominal and pelvic(partly)Cylindrical and flattened dorsoventrally | Very short body | |
| Neck or cervix | LongerWall is thickCervical canal narrow and spiral folad of mucous membrane | Short Cervical cana; straight Simple plug of mucous membrane | Very short Thick mucular coat |
| Attachment | Broad ligament attached to Dorsal part of flanksVentral to level of coxal tuber round ligament is welldeveloped | Broad ligament Attached to abdomiala and pelvic wallRound ligament Blends with parietal peritoneum over deep inguinal ring | Braod ligament Dorsal part of hornRound ligament is well developed |
| Endometrium caruncle | Present | Absent | Absent |
Comparative anatomy of the vagina
We will consider the following important features to compare the anatomy of the vagina from different animals –
Fornix of vagina
- Present in ox, sheep, goat, and horse, not so distinct in dog
Suburethral diverticulum
- Present in ox, sheep, and goat; absent in horse and dog
Okay, it is better to learn from the table below –
| Features | Ox, sheep and goat | Horse | Dog |
| Length and shape | Straight Longer (25-30cm) | StraightShorter (15-20cm) and less capacious | Relatively long Straight |
| Fornix | Present | Present | Not distinct |
| Sub-uretral diverticulum | Present | Absent | Absent |
| Canal of gartner | Present (Between muscular and mucosal coat of vagina) | Absent | Absent |
“Please let’s try to find more features to compare.”
Comparative anatomy of the mammary gland of different animals
We will consider the following most important features to compare the mammary gland from different animals (like ox, sheep, goat, horse, and dog) –
Position of the mammary gland
- Present in the inguinal region in ox, sheep, and goat
- In the horse, present at the pre-pubic region
- Present in the pectoral , abdominal, and inguinal regions in case of bitch
Let’s learn from the table below –
| Features | Ox, sheep, goat | Horse | Dog | Rabbit |
| Number | 4 in ox | 2 | 10 | 6-8 |
| Position | Inguinal | Pre- pubic region | Pectoral (2)Abdominal (2)Inguinal (1) | Pectoral Abdominal Inguinal |
Conclusion
Hope you got an idea on comparative anatomy of female genital organs from different animals and will be able to identify basic different of these organs from different animals based on their most important anatomical features.
If you think this information is not enough for you to learn about the comparative anatomy of female genital organs of different animals, I would recommend that you learn from class lectures or from books. And, again, if you want to learn more about veterinary comparative anatomy, I would recommend that you connect with me or follow my upcoming articles.
“If possible, I will update or enrich information, pictures, and videos on this topic in the future.”
If there is any mistake in the above information or if you have any suggestions for me, please let me know in the comment box. Thank you so much.
