Histology and scanning electron microscopy of the development of the reproductive tract of the Common Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus (Pseudocheiridae: Marsupialia).

Abstract

This paper describes the histological development of the reproductive tract of the female Common Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus. Scanning electron microscopy of the lumen of the Fallopian tubes and the uteri shows that the cells lining these tubes are ciliated or covered with microvilli. The lumenal configuration of these cells is polygonal. The development of the cilia, microvilli and well defined muscle layers found in the mature females, began in the juvenile. This sequence of differentiation indicates that the histological arrangement of the reproductive tract is associated with the onset of maturation, ovulation, pregnancy and birth of the young. This paper complements information presented in an earlier paper (Armati-Gulson and Lowe 1984) .