Abstract
Summary
The effect of the infusion of epinephrine and norepinephrine directly into the lumen of either uterine artery was studied in unanesthetized, unstressed sheep in both the nonpregnant and pregnant state. The vasoconstrictive response to those catecholamines was found to lie within a narrow range; a 50% reduction of flow was caused by a 3-13 ng/ml arterial blood concentration of epinephrine and 2-10 ng/ml of arterial blood concentration of norepinephrine. This method of in vivo uterine artery infusion plus uterine blood flow measurement appears well-suited for precise quantitative analysis of the reaction of the uterine vascular bed to pharmacologic agents.
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