Ovarian, oviductal, and adrenal vascular connections in female lizards (genus Anolis)

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Abstract
The urinogenital blood vessels of Anolis equestris and A. carolinensis were studied using dissection, injection of silicone rubber, and histology. A new blood-vascular connection between small veins in the pampiniform plexus at the base of the ovary and an ostial extension of the secondary oviductal vein is described. Chemical messengers could thus be carried in the blood from the ovarian venous drainage to the oviduct. Furthermore, close apposition of the secondary oviductal vein and artery provides an anatomical basis for countercurrent exchange of these messengers. A circular venous arcade, involving the supracardinal vein and branches of the oviductal veins, also is described; this arcade could serve to deliver adrenal hormones to each oviduct.