Postnatal development of the oviduct of intact and ovariectomized rabbits

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Abstract
The length of the oviduct, the thickness of its wall, and the height of its mucosal epithelium and cilia were measured in (a) 0‐, 2‐, 4‐ and six‐month‐old rabbits, (b) rabbits ovariectomized at birth and (c) ovariectomized, estrogen‐treated rabbits. The length and external diameter of the oviduct increased progressively until four months of age, after which their rates of increase declined. The thickness of the oviductal wall at the uterotubal junction was twice as large as that of the isthmus at two months of age and six times as large at four and six months of age. The height of the mucosal epithelium in the fimbriae was less than that in other oviductal segments at birth, but exceeded that in other segments at six months of age. Ciliated cells and motile cilia were absent 24 hours after birth; they were first observed two months after birth. The cilia of fimbriae were shorter than cilia elsewhere in the oviduct. Neonatal ovariectomy retarded the development of the oviduct and the mesotubarium and caused pyknosis of ciliated and non‐ciliated cells of the oviductal mucosa. Cells with scarcely motile cilia were present five and one‐half months after neonatal ovariectomy.