Comparative morphological studies of the female genital organs in Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) and the domestic goat

The female genital organs were investigated, following the report on the comparative morphology of the male genital organs in the Japanese serow and the domestic goat. The nomenclature of the female genital organ was referred to the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria Japonica (l987). 1) The female genital organs of the Japanese serow and the goat were composed of two ovaries, two uterine tubes, the uterus, the vagina, the vestibule, and the vulva. We observed the morphological differences of the female genital organs between the Japanese serow and the goat as follows: 2) Ovaries: the ovaries of the Japanese serow became large with advancing age, and in adult, they were variable in size and shape due to the presence of their follicle and corpus luteum. In non-pregnant adult, the ovaries of the Japanese serow were oval in shape (1.5cm long, 1.1cm wide), while those of the goat were more elongated (2.4cm long, 1.7cm wide). The epooephoron and the parooephoron known as the remnants of embryonic period were scarcely observed in the Japanese serow and the goat. However, the appendices vesiclosae still lay in the fimbria ovarica or fimbriae tubae. 3) Uterine tubes: The uterine tubes of the Japanese serow were subdivided into ampulla (3.5cm long) and isthmus (3.7cm long), which are shorter in length and less convoluted than those of the goat (9.2cm, 8.1cm long). 4) Uterus: The uterus of the Japanese serow and the goat was composed of two uterine horns, a cervix, and a body, which resembled bipartite uterus as in the cow, because of the formation of the velum uteri. The uterus horns of the Japanese serow were extremely shorter in length (11.4cm long) and less coiled than those of the goat (26.0cm long). In the uterus of the Japanese serow, there was a deposition of pigment confined mainly to the caruncles, but disappeared during pregnancy. Such a pigmentation was scarcely found in the uterus of the goat