Fallopian Tube Gallery

Uterine arteries, 1825 artwork

Uterine arteries. Dissection showing the arteries (red) of the uterus (lower centre) of a woman who died six days after giving birth. The ovaries and fallopian tubes are either side. Within the abdominal cavity are muscles (orange), the aorta and iliac arteries (red), kidneys (brown) and ureters (white). This anatomical artwork is plate 234 from volume 4 of Manuel d'anatomie descriptive du corps humain (1825). This 5-volume anatomy atlas was produced by French physician and surgeon Jules Germain Cloquet (1790-1883). The illustrations were by Haincelin. Volume 4 illustrated the anatomy of the circulatory and respiratory systems

© SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Ovulation and fertilisation, artwork

Ovulation and fertilisation. Computer artwork of the female reproductive system, showing the development of an ovum (egg, small circle) inside an ovary (oval, centre left) and its subsequent fertilisation. The Graafian follicle (blue, inside ovary) releases its egg at ovulation. The follicle then develops into a corpus luteum (yellow), which secretes progesterone to build up the lining (beige) of the uterus (womb, right), ready for a fertilised egg. The ovum passes through the oviduct (far left) into the fallopian tube (upper left), where it is fertilised by a sperm (black, upper left). It then starts dividing into a cluster of cells (blastocyst, blue), which passes along the fallopian tube to the uterus, where it implants in the uterine lining and

© HENNING DALHOFF / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Illustration of fallopian tube infertility

Illustration of fallopian tube infertility. A fallopian tube extends from the uterus to each ovary; it transports eggs and sperm, and is the site of fertilization. Disorders of the fallopian tubes are thus a common cause of infertility. Here a blockage of the tube (lower left) has occurred. The ovary is at lower centre (grey). The funnel- shaped opening of the fallopian tube with its finger-like projections (fimbriae) are at upper centre. An infection is causing the fallopian tube opening to weep fluid. Blockage of the tube lead- ing to infertility can be through bacterial infec- tion causing tube inflammation (Salpingitis); venereal disease; and ectopic pregnancy

© JOHN BAVOSI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY