Fetal morphology of the female urogenital apparatus in Dasyprocta fuliginosa

Abstract

Dasyprocta fuliginosa had a gestational period of approximately 104 days, to date there are few descriptions of fetal development in this species. From animals collected through subsistence hunting in the Amazon, it was possible to follow the fetal development of the female urogenital apparatus of animals from 56 days until the end of gestation. The kidneys of younger fetuses showed discreet lobations, and from the 75th gestational day onwards they were defined as smooth unilobed organs. The glomerular composition of the cortical region of the youngest fetuses had morphological differences, with poorly developed and undifferentiated capillaries. This composition was transmuted around the 82nd gestational day. Throughout the fetal development process the ureters inserted dorsolaterally to the urinary bladder, communicating with the fetal umbilical funiculus through the urachus, and with the urethra. The same occurred with the reproductive system, which was composed of a double-type uterus, with two uterine horns, a septum and two individual cervical canals, in addition to two uterine tubes, two ovaries, a vagina with a semi-open vaginal membrane, and a vulva, which made up the external genitalia. This constitution reveals that D. fuliginosa during the fetal phase has a well-developed morphology of the reproductive and urinary systems.