Mesovarium and the broad ligament
The mesovarium is the short fold of the broad ligament that attaches to the ovary at its hilum, the notch where its vessels and nerves enter.
Remember
The mesovarium is the short fold from the broad ligament to the ovary's hilum, and it carries the ovary's nerves and vessels. The ovary is attached to the sheet, not enclosed in a pouch of it.
The broad ligament is a flat, double-layered fold of peritoneum (the thin membrane lining the abdominal and pelvic cavity). It stretches from the uterus to the pelvic wall on each side and drapes over the uterus and the uterine (fallopian) tubes.
It has three regions. The mesometrium surrounds the uterus and is the largest. The mesosalpinx is a small part that encloses the uterine tube. The mesovarium is a short fold that leaves the back of the sheet and attaches to the ovary at its hilum, the notch through which nerves and blood vessels enter the ovary.
The mesovarium encloses the ovary's neurovascular bundle (the blood vessels and nerves that run together to the ovary), but it does not cover the ovary itself. So the ovary attaches to the broad ligament, yet it is not enclosed in a pouch of it.
The ovarian ligament is a cord running between the ovary and the uterus, and it lies inside the broad ligament. The suspensory ligament of the ovary, usually considered separate from the broad ligament, conveys the ovarian vessels and nerves from the lateral abdominal wall towards the ovary, and the mesovarium then delivers them to the hilum.
Key facts
- Broad ligament
- a flat, double-layered sheet of peritoneum that drapes over the uterus and the uterine tubes.
- Mesometrium
- the largest region, surrounding the uterus.
- Mesosalpinx
- a small region that encloses the uterine tube.
- Mesovarium
- a short fold from the back of the sheet that meets the ovary at its hilum and encloses the neurovascular bundle.
- The ovary
- attached to the broad ligament by the mesovarium, but not enclosed within a pouch of it.
- Suspensory ligament
- a separate fold that carries the ovarian vessels and nerves towards the ovary, and is usually considered separate from the broad ligament.
Exam traps
- The mesometrium is a real region of the broad ligament and the largest, surrounding the uterus, but it does not attach to the ovarian hilum.
- The mesosalpinx is a small region enclosing the uterine tube. The tube lies close to the ovary, yet the mesosalpinx relates to the tube and is not what attaches at the ovarian hilum.
- The ovarian ligament shares the ovary's name and joins the ovary to the uterus, but it is a band lying inside the broad ligament, not a peritoneal fold enclosing vessels and nerves, so it is not a region of the broad ligament.
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