mtDNA - direct maternal?

[dreamawake]

Hi - I'm new to the list. I just received my results. Haplogroup U. Could someone provide clarification? This is my (limited) understanding of mtDNA (from project website):
"Females: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). This tests the mtDNA of females to help identify the ancestral migratory origins of your direct maternal line."

What is meant by "direct maternal"? My mother? My father's mother? The reason I ask is because my results are a perfect confirmation of my father's ethnic group (Russian Jews), not my mother's (Northern European Anglo-Irish).

[sterlingnotes]

MtDNA - direct maternal

Mitochondrial DNA is only passed on by women, from mother to their children.
Your mitichondrial DNA is from your mother, which was from her mother, which was from her mother...

It has nothing to do with your father.

[dreamawake]

Thanks sterlingnotes - Since my previous post, I looked at it a bit more and found that the HVR1 is U5b, which is all over western Europe. So the maternal link is there.