BASIC FUNCTIONS AND HOMEOSTASIS Blood enters the kidneys in a series of branching vessels that give rise to afferent arterioles. Each afferent arteriole leads to a tuft of glomerular capillaries. Plasma and small, non–protein bound solutes are filtered across the…
DEVELOPMENT OF KIDNEY The kidneys develop from the intermediate mesoderm, which is located on each side of the embryo between the paraxial (somitic) and lateral plate mesoderm. After the fourth week, during which the embryo undergoes a complex folding process,…
KIDNEY: POSITION AND RELATIONS POSITION AND SHAPE The kidneys are paired retroperitoneal organs that lie lateral to the upper lumbar vertebrae. In the relaxed, supine position, their superior poles are level with the twelfth thoracic vertebra, while their inferior poles…
Plate 13-1 Open full size image POSITION AND STRUCTURE The breast is shown in its partially dissected state in the upper part of the plate and below in sagittal section. The size of the breast is variable, but in most…
Plate 12-1 Open full size image IMPLANTATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF OVUM Fertilization of the human ovum usually occurs in the ampullary portion of the oviduct, although in rare instances it may take place elsewhere in the genital tract or…
Plate 11-1 Open full size image THE OOCYTE AND OVULATION The completion of the final steps of meiosis I and the release of the oocyte from the parenchyma of the ovary constitute the process of ovulation. Through a process that…
Plate 10-1 Open full size image OVARIAN STRUCTURES AND DEVELOPMENT The ovaries develop from a thickening of cells that form ridges medial to the müllerian and wolffian bodies. These germinal ridges appear at the sixth week. Primary oocytes, arising in…
Plate 9-1 Open full size image FALLOPIAN TUBES The fallopian tubes are musculomembranous structures, each about 12 cm in length, commonly divided into the intramural, isthmic, and ampullary sections. The intramural (interstitial) portion traverses the uterine wall in a more…
Plate 8-1 Open full size image PELVIC VISCERA The interrelationships between the uterus and the surrounding muscles, nerves, vessels, and organs determine both the pathophysiology of uterine function and dysfunction in addition to the therapeutic modalities available when pathologies exist.…
Plate 7-1 Open full size image THE VAGINA The vagina (from Latin, literally “sheath” or “scabbard”) serves as the portal to the internal female reproductive tract and a route of egress for the fetus during delivery. The viscera contained within…