title: General tissue characteristics of the lower urethral and vaginal walls in the domestic rabbit.
abstract: In European rabbits, the distal urethra (DU) opens into the anterior pelvic vagina forming a single canal by which females copulate, give birth, and urinate. We investigated whether the histological characteristics of the DU and the pelvic and perineal vagina are different. The DU and vagina of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were cut and stained with hematoxylin-eosin and Masson's trichrome (n = 3). Data were compared by using Friedman's ANOVA for repeated measures. The walls of the DU and vagina are composed of mucosa, submucosa, smooth muscle, and an external layer. Differences in tissue characteristics of the mucosa, orientation of the smooth muscle fibers, components of the external layer (connective tissue, blood vessels, and striated musculature), and thickness of the tissue layers were found among regions. The lack of histological homogeneity along the urethra and vagina possibly reflects differences in the functions of each segment.
authors.affiliation: Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, México.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Antolín
authors.forename: Nicté
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Xelhuantzi
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: García-Lorenzana
authors.forename: Estela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cuevas
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martínez-Gómez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D003239:Connective Tissue Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D023421:Models, Animal; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D011817:Rabbits / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D014521:Urethra / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D014621:Vagina / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology