Wolffian duct

noun

A paired structure found in mammals including humans that develops in the early stages of embryonic development and plays a critical role in the formation of internal male reproductive organs; precursor to the vasa deferentia, seminal vesicles, and epididymides.

Similar
mesonephric duct
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Meanings

nounWolffian duct (plural Wolffian ducts)

plural Wolffian ducts

  1. embryologyA paired structure found in mammals including humans that develops in the early stages of embryonic development and plays a critical role in the formation of internal male reproductive organs; precursor to the vasa deferentia, seminal vesicles, and epididymides.

    Synonyms: mesonephric duct

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA paired structure found in mammals including humans that develops in the early stages of embryonic development and plays a critical role in the formation of internal male reproductive organs; precursor to the vasa deferentia, seminal vesicles, and epididymides.

Similar
mesonephric duct
Also see
mesonephric duct

Origin

Named after German physiologist Caspar Friedrich Wolff (1733–1794), who described the mesonephros and its ducts in his dissertation in 1759.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 沃爾夫管 /沃尔夫管
  • 沃爾夫管 /沃尔夫管 (Wò'ěrfū guǎn)paired structure that develops in the early stages of embryonic development
Finnish Wolffin tiehyt
  • Wolffin tiehytpaired structure that develops in the early stages of embryonic development
French canal de Wolff
  • canal de Wolffpaired structure that develops in the early stages of embryonic development
German Urnierengang
  • Urnierengangpaired structure that develops in the early stages of embryonic development
Hungarian Wolff-cső
  • Wolff-csőpaired structure that develops in the early stages of embryonic development
Italian dotto di Wolff
  • dotto di Wolffpaired structure that develops in the early stages of embryonic development
Portuguese ducto de Wolff
  • ducto de Wolffpaired structure that develops in the early stages of embryonic development
Spanish conducto de Wolff
  • conducto de Wolffpaired structure that develops in the early stages of embryonic development
Cite this entry
APA

Wolffian duct. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wolffian%20duct

MLA

“Wolffian duct.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wolffian%20duct. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Wolffian duct,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wolffian%20duct.

Source: Wolffian duct on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.