Wolffian duct
The
Wolffian duct (also known as
archinephric duct,
Leydig's duct,
mesonephric duct, or
nephric duct) is a paired
organ found in mammals including
humans during
embryogenesis.
It connects the primitive kidney
Wolffian body (or
mesonephros) to the
cloaca and serves as the
anlage for certain male
reproductive organs.
In a
male, it develops into a system of connected organs between the
testis and the prostate, namely the
rete testis, the
efferent ducts, the
epididymis, the
vas deferens, the
seminal vesicle, and the
prostate.
For this it is critical that the ducts are exposed to
testosterone during
embryogenesis.
In the mature male, the function of this system is to store and mature
sperm, and provide accessory
semen fluid.
In the
female, in the absence of testosterone support, the Wolffian ducts do not develop and wither.
As a residual the
epoophoron and
Skene's glands may be present. Also, lateral to the wall of the vagina a
Gartner's duct or cyst could develop as a
remnant.
It is named after
Caspar Friedrich Wolff who described the
mesonephros and its ducts in his
dissertation in
1759.
*
Fetal genitalia*
List of homologues of the human reproductive system*
Masculinization*
Sexual differentiation*
Müllerian duct*
Ureteric bud
