title: Radiographic morphology of fallopian tubes in women of child-bearing potential: a descriptive study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine the radiographic morphological characteristics of fallopian tubes in women of child-bearing age.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 2007 to 2008 we retrospectively collected records from women aged 19-45 years undergoing fertility evaluation who had normal salpingograms. Women were excluded if they had abnormal imaging on salpingogram, ultrasound, or hysteroscopy, and if they had any history of pelvic disease or pathology, were febrile, or were taking oral contraceptives at the time of the salpingogram.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We analyzed the salpingograms from 100 women. The interstitial portion of the tube is funnel-shaped. The mean diameter of the proximal tubal opening was 1.07 ± 0.43 mm. The mean length of the interstitial portion was 5.27 ± 4.28 mm, and the mean internal diameters of the middle and distal segments of the interstitial portion were 0.50 ± 0.22 mm and 0.32 ± 0.12 mm, respectively. The narrowest part of the fallopian tube was the distal segment of the interstitial portion, which is significantly different from the internal diameter of the isthmus (0.46 ± 0.28 mm) (P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides detailed data of the normal fallopian tube that may be of value in the development of new contraceptive agents, as well as infertility treatments.
authors.affiliation: Haikou Municipal Hospital, Haikou, Hainan Province, China. jilinhxj@163.com
authors.forename: Xiangjun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Leiguang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Suihuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: Xudong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chenghao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D005187:Fallopian Tubes / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007047:Hysterosalpingography; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult