Uterine blood flow in the pregnant rabbit

Two methods are described for the measurement of uterine blood flow in the pregnant rabbit. The first involves the use of a Parks ultrasonic Doppler probe placed over the exposed uterine artery. The second method uses a drop counter system connected between the uterine and jugular veins. The Doppler flowmeter was used to measure uterine arterial blood flow in twenty rabbits on Day 28 or 29 of pregnancy. No significant difference was observed between blood flow on these 2 days and the absolute blood flow to one horn (plus or minus S. E.) was found to be 16.8 plus or minus 1.4 ml/min, equivalent to 27.1 plus or minus 1.8 ml/100 g tissue/min. Using the drop recorder technique, the flow to one uterine horn in eleven rabbits on Day 27 or 28 of pregnancy was 12.5 plus or minus 1.9 ml/min, equivalent to 23.6 plus or minus 3.2 ml/100 g tissue/min. The pressure-flow relationship in the uterine vascular bed was studied using the Doppler flowmeter and graded mechanical occlusion of the arterial supply. Within the range of pressures studied, the flow was found to be linearly related to the arterio-venous pressure difference. This suggests that the uterine vascular bed was fully dilated under the conditions of study.