Cyclical Changes of Oviduct Motility in Rabbits12

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Abstract
Studies of oviduct motility in rabbits have been made using indwelling balloon-ended fluid-filled catheters. Daily recordings were made on 12 rabbits for periods up to 21 days. Oviduct motility was characterized by bursts of activity which lasted for 2–3 min followed by silent periods ranging up to 20 min. In some cases contractile activity continued without intermission for many minutes. There was no correlation for bursts of activity in left and right oviducts of the same animal. Daily variations of muscular activity were seen in 10 of 12 rabbits, and in 6 of these 10 cyclical peaks of activity occurring every 4–7 days were observed. Each oviduct exhibited its own pattern of cyclical variation. In 4 of the 10 rabbits. exhibiting variations in muscular activity of the oviduct, ovulation was induced by an intravenous injection of 100 IU of human chorionic gonadotrophin. Following injection little increase in muscular activity of the oviduct was seen for 4 hr, by which time bursts of contraction occurred every 15 min. There was then a rapid increase in the mean amplitude of contractions until 10 hr, followed by a further slower increase up to 24 hr after injection. At this latter time bursts of activity occurred every 5–8 min. During the next 2 days there was a sharp fall in the amplitude of muscular contractions to preinjection levels.

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