MYOMETRIAL RESPONSES TO THE MENSTRUAL PLAIN-MUSCLE STIMULANT

Abstract

SUMMARY The guinea-pig uterus and strips of human myometrium are stimulated in vitro by ether extracts of menstrual fluid; the guinea-pig uterus is also stimulated in vivo by intravenous or intracardiac injections of the same extracts. The amount of the active material recovered from menstrual fluid probably varies from subject to subject, and in one instance was shown to decrease steadily from the beginning to the end of the menstrual period. The uterine responses in vitro take several forms, all excitatory; they are compared with the contractions of the human uterus in vivo during normal menstruation and dysmenorrhoea.