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TRANSPORT OF MICROSPHERES IN THE GENITAL TRACT OF THE FEMALE RABBIT

Experimental analysis of the influence of endogenous hormones on egg transport in the oviduct requires groups of animals in which the endocrine environment differs from that prevailing during the early postovulatory period. In order to measure transport in these animals, a substitute for the egg must be introduced. Eggs in cumulus obtained from donor rabbits (Noyes, Adams & Walton, 1959) or radioactive microspheres (Harper, Bennett, Boursnell & Rowson, 1960) have been used as substitutes, but both require surgical techniques and neither substitute is readily available.

The present study was undertaken to see if dextran microspheres injected into the peritoneal cavity would act as useful substitutes for the egg in rabbits. Their uptake and transport by the genital tract was assessed under various endocrine conditions and the influence of their size on the speed of transport was also investigated.

Female rabbits obtained at the local market were isolated and given 25