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The oviduct (uterine tube or fallopian tube) is a convoluted tube connecting the ovary to the horn of the uterus. The oviduct is composed of three distinctive segments: the widened ampulla starting at the ovarian bursa, the narrow, tightly coiled isthmus, and the uterine intramural portion. The ampulla opens through an infundibulum surrounded by fimbriae into the periovarian space. The ampulla and infundibulum are lined with ciliated columnar epithelium interspersed with club-shaped nonciliated cells, the isthmus with pseudostratified and low columnar epithelium with some ciliated cells, and the intramural portion with simple columnar epithelium. Surrounding the epithelium is a mucosa that is folded to different degrees in the three oviduct segments, a lamina propria, a muscularis consisting of circular smooth muscles, and an adventitia.
The 4X micrograph presents the oviduct cross-sectioned at three different places, showing the fimbriae, the oviduct lumen with highly folded mucosa, and myometrium (smooth muscle layers of the uterus). The 10X, 20X, and 40X micrographs display the oviduct in increasing detail. In the 20X micrograph ciliated columnar epithelium, folded mucosa, and muscularis are visible. The 40X micrograph shows the cells of the epithelium: the ciliated cells with centrally located oval nuclei and the non-ciliated club-shaped cells.
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