Wolffian duct

Wolffian duct
(sometimes l.c.) Embryol.
a duct, draining the mesonephros of the embryo, that becomes the vas deferens in males and vestigial in females.
[1875-80; named after K. F. WOLFF; see -IAN]

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▪ kidney anatomy
also called  Archinephric Duct,  

      one of a pair of tubes that carry urine from primitive or embryonic kidneys to the exterior or to a primitive bladder. In amphibians the reproductive system encroaches on the Wolffian duct; in some species the duct carries both urine and sperm, but most amphibians develop a separate tube to carry urine from the kidney.

      In advanced vertebrates the Wolffian duct develops in conjunction with the embryonic kidneys. The mature kidney drains through the ureter, however, and the Wolffian duct develops into parts of the male reproductive system, such as the epididymis and the vas deferens.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Wolffian duct — Wolffian Wolff i*an, a. (Anat.) Discovered, or first described, by Caspar Friedrich Wolff (1733 1794), the founder of modern embryology. [1913 Webster] {Wolffian body}, the mesonephros. {Wolffian duct}, the duct from the Wolffian body. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wolffian duct — n the duct of the mesonephros that persists in the female chiefly as part of the epoophoron and in the male as the duct system leaving the testis and including the epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle, and ejaculatory duct called also Leydig …   Medical dictionary

  • Wolffian duct — Infobox Embryology Name = PAGENAME Latin = d. mesonephricus, d. Wolffi GraySubject = 252 GrayPage = 1205 Caption = Urogenital sinus of female human embryo of eight and a half to nine weeks old. Caption2 = Transverse section of a chick embryo of… …   Wikipedia

  • wolffian duct — noun Usage: often capitalized W Etymology: wolffian (II) : mesonephric duct * * * (sometimes l.c.) Embryol. a duct, draining the mesonephros of the embryo, that becomes the vas deferens in males and vestigial in females. [1875 80; named after K.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Wolffian duct — /wʊlfiən ˈdʌkt/ (say woolfeeuhn dukt) noun an organ found in embryonic mammals, persisting as the ureter in females, and the urinogenital duct in males of lower vertebrates and as the genital duct in males of higher vertebrates; mesonephric duct …  

  • Wolffian duct — noun Etymology: Kaspar Friedrich Wolff Date: 1876 the duct of the mesonephros that persists in the female chiefly as part of a vestigial organ and in the male as the duct system leaving the testis and including the epididymis, vas deferens,… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Wolffian duct — the mesonephric duct into which urine drains from the mesonephric tubules and which also serves in many fishes for sperm transport. In females these ducts open into the urogenital sinus …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • Wolffian duct — noun a paired organ found in mammals including humans during embryogenesis …   Wiktionary

  • Wolffian duct — see mesonephros …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • Wolffian duct structures — adj. embryonic structures (named after Kaspar Friedrich Wolff) that develop into the interior reproductive systerm of the male attached to the testicles …   English contemporary dictionary

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