Morphological variation in the female reproductive tract of Australian rodents in the genera Pseudomys and Notomys.

Morphological studies of the vagina and cervix from females of several species of Pseudomys (pseudo-mice) and Notomys (hopping-mice) have shown marked interspecific differences. In females of all four species of Pseudomys and in N. cervinus there was a relatively thin walled, dorsoventrally flattened, vagina with a large lumen, longitudinal epithelial folds, and conspicuous fornices. By contrast, in females of N. alexis and N. mitchelli the vagina had a much smaller lumen, few or no folds, minute fornices, but a well developed muscle coat. The cervix of the Pseudomys females was a conspicuous fibrous structure, rich in collagen, with two canals throughout its length. In N. cervinus females it was smaller and the two canals, although separated by a median septum for much of their lengths, joined just before the external os. In N. alexis and N. mitchelli females the cervix was much less extensive, its boundaries could not be discerned externally, and, histologically, it was more cellular and less fibrous. This variation in morphology of the female reproductive tract appears to complement that of the excurrent ducts, accessory sex glands and external genitalia of males of these species of Australian murid rodents.