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Body of uterus: anatomy, location and function

The body is the main part of the uterus, between the fundus and the isthmus. It holds the uterine cavity, where an embryo implants and the fetus grows.

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Highlighted in the model: Body of uterus. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. Use Male / Female to switch bodies. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science; knee ligaments, menisci, tonsils, palate and parotid glands from the Human Reference Atlas Visible Human Male model and female parts from its Visible Human Female model (HuBMAP / NIH); lung lobes built from the BodyParts3D chest; all CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The female body shares the male skeleton, muscles and organs except its pelvis, reproductive organs, breasts, bladder, urethra and skin.

Body of uterus at a glance

Also called
Corpus uteri
What it is
The body is the main part of the uterus, between the fundus and the isthmus.
Location
It lies in the pelvis above the bladder, usually bent forward over it. Peritoneum covers it in front and behind.
Function
It holds the uterine cavity, where an embryo implants and the fetus grows.
Body system
Reproductive · single, midline structure · female body
FMA ID
FMA17739 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • The uterine cavity is a narrow, triangular slit in coronal section.
  • Its thick middle layer, the myometrium, is smooth muscle.
  • The endometrium has a functional layer that is shed each month and a basal layer that regrows it.

Clinical relevance

Endometrial thickness on ultrasound is used to investigate abnormal or postmenopausal bleeding.

Structures next to the body of uterus

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Body of uterus (FMA17739). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §27.2 Anatomy and Physiology of the Ovarian Reproductive System. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
  4. Browne K., Schlehlein H. 3D Reference Organ Set for United, Female (Visible Human Female). Human Reference Atlas 3D Reference Object Library, HuBMAP / NIH. Data from the NLM Visible Human Project. CC BY 4.0.

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.