Temporal Relationships between Uterine Weight, Uterine Blood Flow, and Serum Progesterone and Estradiol Levels in the Pseudopregnant Rat

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Abstract
Changes in rat uterine weight and uterine blood flow (UBF) between days 4 and 12 of pseudopregnancy (PSP:day 0 = ovulation) were monitored and correlated with the respective fluctuations in serum progesterone (P) and estradiol (E) levels. Rats were monitored for UBF using a square-wave electromagnetic blood flow monitor. Serum P and E levels were estimated by radioimmunoassay. Parallel changes in uterine weight and UBF were observed between days 4 and 9 of PSP, each exhibiting a peak on day 6 before declining to basal levels on day 9. Serum E levels remained relatively constant throughout PSP, ranging between 5 and 7.5 pg/ml. Serum P levels exhibited peaks (days 8-9) when UBF and uterine weights were lowest, and lower levels when the uterine parameters were elevated (days 6-7). Fluctuations in the ratio of E to P (rather than the respective, absolute levels of each) apparently induce the changes observed in uterine weight and UBF during PSP in the rat.

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