位置、形態與功能

輸卵管（Fallopian tubes，以16世紀義大利解剖學家Gabriele Fallopio的名字命名，有時又稱oviducts，拉丁語 paths of eggs，後一個英文術語精確地表達了它的功能）由兩側卵巢向子宮延伸，它們為卵子向下運行到子宮提供了通道（他們同樣為精子從子宮向上運動、與卵子相遇提供了通道）。子宮為受精卵植入的場所。輸卵管寬闊的卵巢端有一些指狀突起，稱為輸卵管傘，它們能移動地掃過卵巢表面；輸卵管的子宮端直接延伸進子宮。卵子的受精通常發生在輸卵管的上部，在其內表面，有無數的毛狀生長物，叫纖毛。纖毛的運動，再加上輸卵管壁平滑肌收縮，將卵子向子宮方向輸送。（在男子的輸精管內，精子以同樣的方式被運送，因為在輸精管內它們仍不能自主運動）。
 

The Fallopian Tubes

Location, form and function
The Fallopian tubes (named after the 16th century Italian anatomist Gabriele Fallopio) lead from the ovaries to the uterus. They are also sometimes called oviducts (lat.: paths of eggs), a term that accurately describes their function. They provide a passageway for the egg down to the area where it could implant in case of a fertilization. (They also provide a passageway for sperm cells swimming upward from the uterus trying to reach the egg). The wide ovarian end of a Fallopian tube has fingerlike extensions called fimbriae (singular: fimbria) which move across the surface of the ovary; the uterine end leads directly into the inside of the uterus. The fertilization of an egg normally occurs in the upper part of a Fallopian tube. Inside the tube, there are innumerable hairlike growths called cilia (singular: cilium) whose movements, together with muscular contractions of the tubal wall, sweep the egg toward the uterus. (Inside the male vas deferens, the sperm cells are transported the same way since they are still unable to move by themselves at that point).