Abstract
As the reproductive organs of the female chicken develop there is an atrophy of the right gonad and the right oviduct which begins during early embryogeny. Persistency of these structures on the left side results in only one functional ovary and oviduct. A suspicion that bilateral oviducts were present in an inbred strain of Rhode Island Reds resulted when hens were being artificially inseminated. As each hen was prepared for receiving semen, manual pressure was exerted so that the vagina would be extruded. When this practice was followed with line SD-11 hens (from the Rhode Island Red inbred line) it was frequently observed that apparently two vaginas were appearing at the cloaca. Subsequent autopsies have verified that at least a portion of the right oviduct has persisted in some of the SD-11 hens.
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MORGAN, W., KOHLMEYER, W. Hens with Bilateral Oviducts. Nature 180, 98 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/180098a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/180098a0
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