A new technique for studying the uterine microvasculature in the rat

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to develop a method for direct measurement of rat uterine microvessels and to test their viability. STUDY DESIGN: In anesthetized female Sprague-Dawley diestrus rats, one uterine horn was isolated from the body cavity with its nerve and blood supply intact. A small fiberop...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of obstetrics and gynecology 1996-08, Vol.175 (2), p.388-395
Main Authors: Alsip, Nancy L., Hornung, Julie W., Saha, Puspa R., Hill, Jennifer B., Asher, Eleanor F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetylcholine - pharmacology
Angiotensin II - pharmacology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gynecology - methods
Mammalian female genital system
Microcirculation - drug effects
Morphology. Physiology
Obstetrics - methods
Phenylephrine - pharmacology
rat
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Serotonin - pharmacology
technique
Uterine Contraction
Uterine microcirculation
Uterus - blood supply
Uterus - drug effects
Vasoconstriction
vasoconstrictors
Vasodilation
vasodilators
Vertebrates: reproduction
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Summary:OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to develop a method for direct measurement of rat uterine microvessels and to test their viability. STUDY DESIGN: In anesthetized female Sprague-Dawley diestrus rats, one uterine horn was isolated from the body cavity with its nerve and blood supply intact. A small fiberoptic probe inserted into the lumen of the uterus served as a light source for transillumination of uterine vessels. Diameters of circumferential arterioles were observed while increasing concentrations of vasoactive agonists were suffused over the uterus. RESULTS: No significant diameter changes occurred in circumferential arterioles of the control group (100-minute suffusion of Krebs solution). Dilation with papaverine (100 μmol/L) demonstrated that vessels possessed basal tone. Circumferential arterioles showed concentration-dependent constriction to phenylephrine and angiotensin II and dilation to acetylcholine and serotonin. CONCLUSIONS: This uterine microcirculatory preparation provides a stable, reproducible model of a unique microcirculatory bed that responds to vasoactive agents in a manner similar to other microcirculatory beds. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1996;175:388-95.)
ISSN:0002-9378
1097-6868
DOI:10.1016/S0002-9378(96)70151-5