Blood and Nerve Supply of the Female Reproductive Tract

Blood supply to the female reproductive tract is highly anastomotic. cranially, the ovarian artery from the aorta supplies the ovary and gives off a uterine branch that supplies the ipsi­lateral uterine tube and cranial part of the uterine horn.

The caudal part of the uterus, its cervix, and adjacent parts of the vagina receive blood from branches of the vaginal artery, a branch of the internal pudendal artery. The more distal branches of the internal pudendal artery also supply the caudal vagina, vulva, and anus. All of these vessels are bilateral.

The uterine artery is the chief blood supply to the uterus in the region of the developing fetus; consequently, it enlarges greatly as pregnancy progresses. One of the signs of pregnancy in cattle is the palpable vibration of this artery (called fremitus), which can be detected on rectal examination.

Venous drainage of the female reproductive tract is via veins that are satellite to the arteries and that ultimately drain to the caudal vena cava. in ruminants, the ovarian artery and the uterine vein run close together, providing a venoarterial pathway for chemical messengers from the uterus to reach the ovary on the same side. This relationship underlies certain physi­ologic phenomena of ruminant reproduction (see Chapter 27).

sympathetic autonomic innervation to the female reproductive tract arrives from the caudal mesenteric ganglion via hypogastric nerves. Parasympathetic fibers arise from sacral spinal cord segments and travel to the repro­ductive organs in the pelvic nerves. The puden­dal and perineal nerves, somatic nerves from sacral spinal cord segments, provide motor and sensory innervation, respectively, to the exter­nal genitalia.