Congenital abnormalities of the ovine paramesonephric ducts

A 15 month survey of ovine reproductive tracts was undertaken in slaughterhouses in southwest England. A total of 33506 tracts were examined; 23536 from lambs and 9970 from adults. In total, 3.4% of tracts were pregnant and 3.3% exhibited abnormalities. Twenty cases of uterus unicornis, six of uterus didelphys and 11 of segmental aplasia were encountered, such that partial aplasia of the paramesonephric ducts accounted for 3.3% of all abnormalities. Although developmental abnormalities of the ovine female genital system are relatively uncommon, a substantial proportion of these can be accounted for by development defects of the paramesonephric ducts.