[Neurovegetative factors that influence fertility]

A comparative study of fertility among rats with different ovarian neurotomies (splanchnicotomy, vagotomy and pelvicotomy) with or without contralateral ovariectomy has been carried out. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the autonomic nervous system on the function of the ovary. Unilateral ovariectomy increased the fertility rate from 90% to 100%. Following left splanchnicotomy, the fertility was 40%; with left vagotomy and pelvicotomy, it was 60%. In the animals with one of these neurotomies plus contralateral ovariectomy, the fertility increased to 100%. The number of embryos implanted in the uterine horns was different on the side of neurotomy and in the contralateral one: 2 and 9.3 for the splanchnicotomy; 6.3 and 8.3 for the vagotomy, and 4.3 and 6.3 for the pelvicotomy, respectively. The cases with ovarian neurotomy and contralateral ovariectomy exhibited a greater number of implantations in the uterine horn on the side of the neurotomy as compared with the control rats. The number of implantations showed a parallelism with the number of corpora lutea in the ovaries of non pregnant rats with the same neurotomies. These results lead to the following conclusions: 1. Unilateral ovariectomy increases the fertility; 2. Ovarian splanchnicotomy, vagotomy and pelvicotomy reduce the fertility; 3. After contralateral ovariectomy, this lower fertility is transformed into an increased fertility; and 4. neurotomy, especially splanchnicotomy, reduces the number of embryos implanted in the uterine horn on the side of the neurotomy.