| Müllerian duct | |
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| Urogenital sinus of female human embryo of eight and a half to nine weeks old. | |
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| Tail end of human embryo, from eight and a half to nine weeks old. | |
| Latin | d. paramesonephricus |
| Gray's | subject #252 1206 |
| Carnegie stage | 17 |
| Precursor | Intermediate mesoderm |
| MeSH | Mullerian+Ducts |
The Müllerian ducts (or paramesonephric ducts) are paired ducts of the embryo that run down the lateral sides of the urogenital ridge and terminate at the mullerian eminence in the primitive urogenital sinus. In the female, they will develop to form the fallopian tubes, uterus, and the upper portion of the vagina; in the male, they are lost. These ducts are made of tissue of mesodermal origin.
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Development
The Müllerian ducts are present on the embryo of both sexes. Only in females do they grow and develop into reproductive organs. They degenerate in males, but the adjoining Wolffian ducts develop into male reproductive organs.
Regulation of development
The development of the Müllerian ducts is controlled by the presence or absence of "AMH", or Anti-müllerian hormone (also known as "MIF" for "Müllerian-inhibiting factor", or "MIH" for "Müllerian-inhibiting hormone").
| male embryogenesis | The testes produce AMH and as a result the development of the Müllerian ducts is inhibited. | Disturbances can lead to persistent müllerian duct syndrome. | The ducts disappear except for the vestigial vagina masculina and the appendix testis. |
| female embryogenesis | The absence of AMH results in the development of female reproductive organs, as noted above. | Disturbance in the development may result in uterine absence (Mullerian agenesis) or uterine malformations. | The ducts develop into the upper vagina, cervix, uterus and oviducts. |
Eponym
They are named after Johannes Peter Müller, a physiologist who described these ducts in his text "Bildungsgeschichte der Genitalien" in 1830.
Additional images
 Enlarged view from the front of the left Wolffian body before the establishment of the distinction of sex. |
 Transverse section of human embryo eight and a half to nine weeks old. |
See also
- Defeminization
- prostatic utricle
- List of homologues of the human reproductive system
- Sexual differentiation
- Wolffian duct
External links
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