INSULIN CONCENTRATIONS IN THE FOETAL PLASMA AND FOETAL FLUIDS OF THE SHEEP

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Abstract
Twenty-eight ewes of the Welsh Mountain breed, bearing foetuses of 42–144 days (term 148 days), were anaesthetized by the spinal administration of procaine and the foetuses were delivered by Caesarian section. The animals were transported from a Welsh farm to London about a week before they were to be used; here they were maintained on hay and ungulate pellet diet (Oxo Ltd., London). Simultaneously blood samples were obtained from the umbilical artery and from the dorsalis pedis artery of the mother as soon as the foetus was exposed. Insulin concentration in plasma was measured by the double antibody precipitation method of Morgan & Lazarow (1963). Plasma glucose and fructose were also determined. Table 1 shows that insulin was detectable in foetal plasma from early foetal life; the concentration was not related to foetal age, and the concentrations of insulin in maternal and foetal plasma varied independently. The insulin concentration in

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