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Wolffian duct
 
 
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The Wolffian duct (also known as archinephric duct, Leydig's duct, mesonephric duct, or nephric duct) is a paired organ
Organ (anatomy)

In biology, an organ is a biological tissue that performs a specific function or group of functions. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues....
 found in mammals including human
Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
s during embryogenesis
Embryogenesis

Embryogenesis is the process by which the embryo is formed and develops. It starts with the fertilization of the ovum, egg, which, after fertilization, is then called a zygote....
.

It connects the primitive kidney Wolffian body (or mesonephros
Mesonephros

The mesonephros is one of three excretory system that develop in vertebrates. It serves as the main excretory organ of aquatic vertebrates and as a temporary kidney in higher vertebrates....
) to the cloaca
Cloaca

In zoological anatomy, a cloaca is the posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the alimentary tract and urinary tract of certain animal species....
 and serves as the anlage
Anlage

In embryology, anlage is the primordium, the initial clustering of embryonic cells that serves as a foundation from which a body part or an Organ develops....
 for certain male reproductive organs.

oth the male and the female the Wolffian duct develops in to the trigone of urinary bladder, a part of the bladder wall.






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The Wolffian duct (also known as archinephric duct, Leydig's duct, mesonephric duct, or nephric duct) is a paired organ
Organ (anatomy)

In biology, an organ is a biological tissue that performs a specific function or group of functions. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues....
 found in mammals including human
Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
s during embryogenesis
Embryogenesis

Embryogenesis is the process by which the embryo is formed and develops. It starts with the fertilization of the ovum, egg, which, after fertilization, is then called a zygote....
.

It connects the primitive kidney Wolffian body (or mesonephros
Mesonephros

The mesonephros is one of three excretory system that develop in vertebrates. It serves as the main excretory organ of aquatic vertebrates and as a temporary kidney in higher vertebrates....
) to the cloaca
Cloaca

In zoological anatomy, a cloaca is the posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the alimentary tract and urinary tract of certain animal species....
 and serves as the anlage
Anlage

In embryology, anlage is the primordium, the initial clustering of embryonic cells that serves as a foundation from which a body part or an Organ develops....
 for certain male reproductive organs.

Development

Gray1110
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
Development of the urinary and reproductive organs

The development of the urinary and reproductive organs as a part of the prenatal development, concerns the urinary system and sex organs. The latter is a part of the stages of sexual differentiation....
.

Male development

In a male
Malé

Mal? , population 104,403 , is the Capital , the largest city in terms of population, and the name of an island in the Maldives. It is located at the southern edge of North Male' Atoll Kaafu Atoll....
, it develops into a system of connected organs between the testis and the prostate, namely the rete testis
Rete testis

Rete testis is an anastomosis network of delicate tubules located in the hilum of the testicle that carries spermatozoon from the seminiferous tubules to the vasa efferentia....
, the efferent ducts
Efferent ducts

The efferent ducts connect the rete testis with the initial section of the epididymis.There are two basic designs for efferent ductule structure:...
, the epididymis
Epididymis

The epididymis is part of the male reproductive system and is present in all male mammals. It is a narrow, tightly-coiled tube connecting the efferent ducts from the rear of each testicle to its vas deferens....
, the vas deferens
Vas deferens

The vas deferens , also called ductus deferens, is part of the male anatomy of some species; they transport sperm from the epididymis in anticipation of ejaculation....
,and the seminal vesicle
Seminal vesicle

The seminal vesicles are a pair of simple tubular glands posteroinferior to the urinary bladder of males....
. The prostate
Prostate

The prostate is a compound tubuloalveolar exocrine gland of the male mammalian reproductive system. Females do not have a prostate gland, although females do have tiny paraurethral Skene's glands connected to the distal third of the urethra in the prevaginal space that are homologous to the prostate....
 forms from the urogenital sinus.

For this it is critical that the ducts are exposed to testosterone
Testosterone

Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testis of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands....
 during embryogenesis
Embryogenesis

Embryogenesis is the process by which the embryo is formed and develops. It starts with the fertilization of the ovum, egg, which, after fertilization, is then called a zygote....
. Testosterone
Testosterone

Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testis of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands....
 binds to and activates androgen receptor
Androgen receptor

The androgen receptor , also known as NR3C4 , is a type of nuclear receptor which is activated by binding of either of the androgen hormones testosterone or dihydrotestosterone....
, affecting intracellular signals and modifying the expression of numerous genes.

In the mature male, the function of this system is to store and mature sperm
Spermatozoon

A sperm, from the ancient Greek word sp???a and and more commonly known as a sperm cell, is the ploidy cell that is the male gamete. It Fertilization an ovum to form a zygote....
, and provide accessory semen
Semen

Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that usually contains spermatozoon....
 fluid.

Female development

In the female
Female

Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces mobile ovum . The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male....
, in the absence of testosterone support, the Wolffian ducts regresses, and inclusions may persist. The epoophoron
Epoophoron

The epoophoron is a remnant of the Wolffian duct that can be found next to the ovary and fallopian tube....
 and Skene's glands may be present. Also, lateral to the wall of the vagina a Gartner's duct
Gartner's duct

Gartner's duct is a potential embryological remnant in human female development of the mesonephric ducts in the development of the urinary and reproductive organs....
 or cyst could develop as a remnant.

History

It is named after Caspar Friedrich Wolff
Caspar Friedrich Wolff

Caspar Friedrich Wolff was a Germany physiologist and one of the founders of embryology....
 who described the mesonephros
Mesonephros

The mesonephros is one of three excretory system that develop in vertebrates. It serves as the main excretory organ of aquatic vertebrates and as a temporary kidney in higher vertebrates....
 and its ducts in his dissertation in 1759.

Additional images


See also

  • Fetal genitalia
  • List of homologues of the human reproductive system
    List of homologues of the human reproductive system

    The List of Homology of the human reproductive system shows how indifferent embryonic organ s differentiate into the respective sex organs in males and females....
  • Masculinization
  • Sexual differentiation
    Sexual differentiation

    Sexual differentiation is the process of development of the differences between males and females from an undifferentiated zygote . As male and female individuals develop from zygotes into fetuses, into infants, children, adolescents, and eventually into adults, sex and gender differences at many levels develop: genes, chromosomes, gonads, ho...
  • Müllerian duct
    Müllerian duct

    The M?llerian ducts are paired ducts of the embryo which run down the lateral sides of the urogenital ridge and terminate at the mullerian tubercle in the primitive urogenital sinus....


External links