ERICA REZENDE PEREIRA

AUTHOR:  ERICA REZENDE PEREIRA
TITLE: ANATOMY OF THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM OF Alouatta belzebul (Linnaeus, 1766)

ADVISOR: Prof. Dr. KLEBER FERNANDO PEREIRA
DEFENSE DATE: 11/29/2019

ABSTRACT

The Alouatta belzebul (A. belzebul) primates popularly known as red-handled howler monkeys are endemic to Brazil, belong to the Atelidae family and are classified as New World Primates (PNM). They are large animals, diurnal habits, slow movements and quadrupedal locomotion. They have sexual dimorphism, prehensile tail and very pronounced hyoid bone. Knowledge of the anatomy of any wild animal is of fundamental importance for its preservation and protection. In this context the present study aimed to describe the morphology of the female reproductive system of A. belzebul. We used 6 specimens of A. belzebul, female, adult and free of lesions that were provided by the Belo Monte HPP Rescue and Scientific Utilization Project. The macroscopic morphology of the female reproductive system of A. belzebul is similar to that found in human primates and some nonhuman primates. The uterus is simple with a globular fundus, the uterine tubes are thin and curvilinear, the ovaries are ovoid with a smooth surface, the vagina presents as a long thin-walled muscular tube where the external orifice of the marked urethra was observed in the vestibular region by a bilobed urethral papilla and in the vulvar region in its caudal portion a well-developed clitoris. Histological analysis of the ovaries in the cortex region showed follicles at different stages of development. Already in the fallopian tubes showed a mucous layer, a muscular and another serous. In the uterus, the myometrium was highly vascularized, arranged in randomly arranged bundles of smooth muscle fibers. Regarding the vagina, it was found in the region of vaginal mucosa basal extract composed of atrophic non-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium. The morphological descriptions provide important information regarding the macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of the female reproductive system of this species in an unprecedented way.