Štefan Polák, Ivan Varga, Michal Miko, Miroslav Borovský, Martin Petrenko, Ladislav Urban, Marianna Kajanová
Ten brief paragraphs point out to the historical milestones in discovering of a tubal function, their embryological development, and the most common congenital anomalies. We summarize current relevant knowledge of anatomical and histological structure of the Fallopian tubes, comment on tubal transport and mechanisms that ensure them (tubal fluid, oscillation of ciliated epithelial cells, smooth muscle movements). Tubal transport is a precisely timed process, allowing propulsion of the sperm in the opposite direction to the oocyte and embryos, and supporting fertilization and early embryogenesis within the tubal lumen. To those interested in the issue there is presented an interesting newly discovered population of cells, the interstitial Cajal cells-like cells, which, it seems, can play one of the central roles in coordinating of various physiological functions of the uterine tubes. The last three paragraphs comment the most common reasons of alteration and failure of the fallopian tubes (infections, cigarette smoking, and endometriosis).