Fetal and maternal temperatures in rabbits

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Abstract
The differences between fetal deep body temperature and maternal aortic temperature were measured in 10 New Zealand white rabbits of 22—29 days gestation with thermocouples thrust into the fetuses immediately after the animals had been killed by a warmed overdose of sodium pentobarbital. Fetal temperatures exceeded maternal temperatures by —2.51 + 0.099.X °C, where X is the gestational age in days. There is 95% confidence that fetal temperatures exceeded maternal temperature by at least 0.25 °C at a fetal age of 29 days. Permanently implanted thermocouples in six nonpregnant rabbits showed that the ventral surface of the abdominal cavity is colder than the aorta, and that the dorsal surface is slightly warmer. Fetal heat loss is partly via the umbilical circulation and partly via the fetal body surface. tissue temperatures in rabbits; fetal heat loss Submitted on September 28, 1964

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