Changes in cervical resistance and collagen fluorescence during gestation in rats
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L. Shi
Abstract
During pregnancy the role of the cervix shifts between two opposing functions. Throughout most of gestation, the cervix is rigid and resists tension in order to maintain the products of conception inside the uterus. At term, however, cervical function changes drastically in order to accommodate stretch and delivery. The events that control cervical function are not known. The aim of this study was to characterize changes in cervical resistance and collagen content during pregnancy in the rat. To determine the change in cervical resistance, non-pregnant and timed pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were sacrificed at various times. Their cervices were isolated and suspended in organ baths connected to a cervimeter for measurement of the stretch-tension relationship. In a different group of animals, cervical collagen content was measured using light-induced fluorescence in non-pregnant and, longitudinally, in pregnant rats. Cervical resistance and collagen content decreased progressively during pregnancy. The changes in cervical resistance mirrored those in cervical collagen content and the nadir in both occurred about two days prior to the onset of labor. Our study suggests that cervical preparation for delivery does not occur acutely at the time of labor and that cervical collagen content determines cervical resistance.
Copyright (c)1999 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG
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Articles in the same Issue
- The study of morphology and circulation of early embryo by three-dimensional ultrasound and power Doppler
- The merit of routine cord blood pH measurement at birth
- The influence of maternal erythrocyte deformability on fetal growth, gestational age and birthweight
- Reproductive choice in individuals HIV-1 infected in South Eastern Italy
- The sensitivity of the trivariate analysis using maternal serum alpha-feto protein, human chorionic gonadotrophin and maternal age in screening for fetal aneuploidy in mothers above the age of 35
- Neonatal and pediatric outcome of infants born to mothers with Antiphospholipid Syndrome
- Changes in cervical resistance and collagen fluorescence during gestation in rats
- The study of maternal and fetal plasma catecholamines levels during pregnancy and delivery
- Is adolescent pregnancy associated with adverse perinatal outcome?
- Physical exercise during pregnancy - physiological considerations and recommendations
- Endothelin-1 levels in infants with pulmonary hypertension receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
- Maternal and neonatal outcome of twin pregnancies complicated by single fetal death
- A fatal case of congenital disseminated langerhans cell histiocytosis
- Treatment of severe postpartum hemorrhage by rectally administered gemeprost pessaries
