SOME CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF UTERINE WASHINGS: A METHOD OF ANALYSIS WITH RESULTS FROM VARIOUS SPECIES

Abstract

SUMMARY A technique is described for the recovery of uterine washings from four species, the rat, rabbit, sheep and cow. The washings were recovered from intact animals at oestrus and during the luteal phase of the reproductive cycle. The amounts of several chemical constituents were measured in the washings (sodium, potassium, chloride, phosphorus, iron, copper, aluminium, magnesium, calcium, cobalt, manganese, carbohydrate, lipid) and the nitrogen distribution was determined. The method, which involved flushing the uterine horn with an isotonic solution, was evaluated in terms of the recovery of a given volume of flushing solution, the effect of uterine ligation, post-mortem changes in the levels of chemical constituents in the uterine washings, and changes in the amounts of the different constituents in utero during the flushing procedure. There was a significant difference in the amount of several of the constituents in uterine washings recovered at two stages of the reproductive cycle. The values were greater at oestrus than at dioestrus in the rat (Na, K, Cl, N, carbohydrate), but greater in the luteal phase than at oestrus in the rabbit, sheep and, to some extent, in the cow (K, P, N, carbohydrate). The application of the method and the interpretation of the results are discussed.