Canal of the cervix

In the anatomy of the female reproductive system, the canal of the cervix (also called the endocervical canal, cervical canal, cervical canal of uterus, or the cavity of cervix) is the spindle-shaped, flattened canal of the cervix, the neck of the uterus.

It communicates with the uterine cavity via the internal orifice of the uterus, and with the vagina via the external orifice.

The wall of the canal presents an anterior and a posterior longitudinal ridge, from each of which proceed a number of small oblique columns, the palmate folds, giving the appearance of branches from the stem of a tree; to this arrangement the name arbor vitæ uteri is applied.

The folds on the two walls are not exactly opposed, but fit between one another so as to close the cervical canal.