Urogenital folds

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The urogenital folds (or urogenital ridges, or urethral folds) are an embryological structure which give rise to a portion of the external genitalia.

Differentiation

It differentiates into two structures: ^[1]

• gonadal ridge -- medial -- primarily reproductive system
• nephrogenic cord -- lateral -- primarily urinary system

Derivatives

• In the female, the urogenital folds become the labia minora. In contrast, the labia majora are formed by the labioscrotal folds ^[1]
• In the male, they form the spongy urethra and a portion of the shaft of the penis, not including the glans.

Pathology

In the male, failure of the urogenital folds to fuse during development leads to a condition known as hypospadias.

Obsolete meanings

Section of the fold in the mesonephros of a chick embryo of the fourth day. This can also be called urogenital fold, but shouldn't be confused with the main meaning.

Less commonly, urogenital fold refers to the fold in the mesonephros which is the precursor of e.g. the suspensory ligament of the ovary^[1]. This is the case in older versions of Gray's anatomy. See development of the urinary and reproductive organs, particularily the "The Mesonephros, Müllerian Duct, and Genital Gland" section for this meaning.

See also

• Fetal genitalia

External links

• "Development of Male External Genitalia", at mcgill.ca
• "Development of Female External Genitalia", at mcgill.ca
• Urogenital+folds at eMedicine Dictionary

References

Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content

Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .