Continuous collection and analysis of bovine oviduct fluid: preliminary results

Oviduct fluid was collected by cannulating the oviducts of nine cows. The fluid was analyzed for sodium (Na), potassium (K), chlorine (Cl), calcium (Ca), inorganic phosphorus (Pi), magnesium (Mg) concentration and osmolarity (Osm). The mean concentrations +/- the standard error of the means of the constituents were: Na (140.7 +/- 0.37 mEq/L), K (5.12 +/- 0.08 mEq/L), Cl (101.8 +/- 1.54 mEq/L), Ca (1.88 +/- 0.08 mEq/L), Pi (1.97 +/- 0.07 mEq/L), and Mg (1.00 +/- 0.03 mEq/L). Osmolarity was 281.0 +/- 2.56 m Osmols. Significantly lower concentrations of Na (117.4 +/- 2.58 mEq/L) were found in the fluid collected from the oviduct ipsilateral to the ovulating ovary on the day of ovulation. This decrease in Na concentration did not occur in fluid from the contralateral oviduct. The lowest concentrations of Ca were found during days 18 through 21, while the highest were found during days 2 through 6. No significant cyclic changes in the other constituents were observed although the concentrations tended to be highest during days 18 through 21 and lowest on day 1. The concentrations of many of the constituents analyzed were different than those previously reported for bovine oviduct fluid (1).