CORTISOL IN AMNIOTIC FLUID OF RHESUS MONKEYS

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Abstract
University of Oxford, Nuffield Institute for Medical Research, and Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford, 0X3 9DS (Received 10 July 1975) In sheep and man, parturition is preceded by an increase in the concentration of cortisol in foetal plasma and amniotic fluid respectively (Bassett & Thorburn, 1969; Fencl & Tulchinsky, 1975; Murphy, Patrick & Denton, 1975). In man it has been suggested that cortisol may influence the production of surface active lipids in the foetal lung (see Avery, 1975) and that the foetal adrenal, like that of the sheep, may play a role in the initiation of parturition (see review by Challis & Thorburn, 1975). Because experimental studies are not feasible in man, an animal model would be useful for studies designed to understand the mechanisms and significance of hormonal changes before parturition. We have examined amniotic fluid and maternal plasma cortisol concentrations serially in the

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