Abstract
Intraperitoneal injection of urine of pregnancy into mature female rabbits results in a direct luteinization of the unruptured follicles, while urine administered intravenously usually results in ovulation (Friedman 1 ).
We have carried out a series of experiments in which we have studied the difference in the results obtained by these 2 modes of injection of urine of pregnancy in 18 immature female rabbits. The animals were divided into 2 groups; one group received urine of pregnancy intraperitoneally, while their litter-mate sisters received an equal amount of the same specimen intravenously. The animals were injected daily for 3 to 6 days. When an animal from one group was autopsied, its litter-mate control was likewise killed. In all cases we have studied serial sections of the ovaries.
In animals whose ovaries contained no mature follicles, but did contain smaller follicles with a follicular cavity, intravenous injection resulted in extreme growth of these follicles, which at autopsy appeared cystic. They usually contained some blood but never as much as was found in the animals which had been given urine intraperitoneally. There was practically no luteinization in these large follicles. In most cases the granulosa was not present. The theca interna was somewhat compressed in places, in others the cells showed a marked hypertrophy. There was no change in the very small follicles. Often the ovaries in these animals contained several extremely large follicles at one pole, while the remainder of the ovary was infantile. We believe that urine injected intravenously acts only on follicles which have a well developed follicular cavity, but never causes a stimulation of the smaller and more primitive follicles.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.