Observations on the Oviduct of Turkeys

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The average length of the oviduct of the laying Broad Breasted Bronze turkey hen is 85.0 cm and its average weight is 82.4 g (without vagina). The general microscopic arrangement consists of an external serous layer, outer longitudinal muscle layer, inner circular muscle layer, and the layer of mucosa. The folds of the mucosa change in size and shape from infundibulum to the vagina. They are lower in the infundibulum, much higher and broader in magnum. In the isthmus, they are less prominent and show many ridges. The uterus has many transverse and longitudinal folds, and the vagina has long narrow longitudinal folds. The epithelium layer of the various parts closely resembles that in the chicken oviduct. Tubular glands are not present in the anterior portion of the infundibulum, are present in the posterior portion, although poorly developed, and most highly developed in the magnum. The cells of these glands have small dark-staining nuclei that lie on the basal part of the cell. The cytoplasm contains numerous small eosinophic granules that do not appear to differ in either the magnum or the isthmus. The tubular glands are replaced by uterine glands in the uterus, which have their nuclei located near the center, and their cytoplasm has very fine granules. The main segment of the vagina has no tubular glands. Scattered tubular glands were observed at the junction of uterus and vagina, some of which were observed to contain aggregates of sperms in the lumen. Lymphoid cells were scattered in all 5 segments of the oviduct. Aggregates varying from a few cells to much larger aggregates were observed in some of the sections. A few plasma cells were also observed in all parts of the oviduct.