Human uterine artery responses to lidocaine

Uterine arteries from pregnant and nonpregnant patients were studied to define their responses to lidocaine. Although local anesthetics usually are considered vasodilators, these data indicate that the human uterine artery constricts when exposed to 1,000 mug of lidocaine in vitro. Furthermore, those arteries from pregnant patients exhibited significantly greater responses than did those from nonpregnant patients.