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A new technique for studying the uterine microvasculature in the rat
N L Alsip1, J W Hornung, P R Saha
1Center for Applied Microcirculatory Research, University of Louisville School of Medicine, KY, USA.
Objective:
Our purpose was to develop a method for direct measurement of rat uterine microvessels and to test their viability.
Study Design:
In anesthetized female Sprague-Dawley diestrus rats, one uterine hom was isolated from the body cavity with its nerve and blood supply intact. A small fiberoptic probe inserted into the lumen of the uterus served as a light source for transillumination of uterine vessels. Diameters of circumferential arterioles were observed while increasing concentrations of vasoactive agonists were suffused over the uterus.
Results:
No significant diameter changes occurred in circumferential arterioles of the control group (100-minute suffusion of Krebs solution). Dilation with papaverine (100 mumol/L) demonstrated that vessels possessed basal tone. Circumferential arterioles showed concentration-dependent constriction to phenylephrine and angiotensin II and dilation to acetylcholine and serotonin.
Conclusions:
This uterine microcirculatory preparation provides a stable, reproducible model of a unique microcirculatory bed that responds to vasoactive agents in a manner similar to other microcirculatory beds.