Female canine reproductive tract
Keywords: canine, uterus, ovaries, anatomy
Image size: 760 x 1140 px
A canine reproductive tract viewed from its dorsal aspect. The tract is from a mature bull mastiff bitch. The length of the vagina is approximately 17 cm (from the external os of the cervix to the level of the clitoris) and the uterine body (green rectangle) is about 5 cm long. The black arrows point to the openings all the ovarian bursae. A fat pad is present at the opening of each bursa and the entrances to the bursae lies laterally to each fat pad. An infundibulum (the most proximal part of the uterine tube) lies under the fat pad of each ovary. Among the domestic animals, the bitch is unique in having its ovaries almost entirely enclosed by bursa; it is not possible to know the activity of the ovaries without removing these bursae.
A canine reproductive tract viewed from its dorsal aspect. The tract is from a mature bull mastiff bitch. The length of the vagina is approximately 17 cm (from the external os of the cervix to the level of the clitoris) and the uterine body (green rectangle) is about 5 cm long. Each of the uterine horns is about 15 cm long cranial to the bifurcation. A total of 11 placentation sites (an arrow indicates one of them) from a previous pregnancy are still visible. The ovarian bursae had been opened to reveal the ovaries and corpora lutea within them. In view of the fact that bitches generally ovulate at about six month intervals, the presence of these corpora lutea suggests that the placental sides are approximately 6 months old
