Fetal and uteroplacental heat production in sheep

Abstract

To separate heat production of the fetus from that of the placenta, endometrium, and uterine muscle, we measured total uterine heat production first with the fetus intact and then after the umbilical cord was snared and the fetus killed. Heat production was measured with the Fick principle using thermistors chronically implanted in a maternal artery and major uterine vein and a flowmeter placed on the common internal iliac artery. In nine ewes, carrying lambs weighing 4.46 +/- 0.42 (SE) kg, total uterine heat production fell from 10.6 to 2.9 W after fetal death. Uterine blood flow fell progressively to 90% of control levels during the first hour after death. The caloric equivalent for O2 averaged 4.1 cal/ml O2 for the uterus, 2.2 for the uteroplacenta, and 4.6 for the fetus per se. It was not possible to explain these results using a simple model of maternal-fetal heat transfer. Rather, it was necessary to assume an additional pathway for heat transfer between small uterine veins on the surface of the uterus and cooler structures in the maternal abdomen, presumably the ventral abdominal wall.