Sampling the fetoplacental circulation. I. The pregnant ovine

Intrauterine endoscopy (fetoscopy) was successfully accomplished in 26 specially prepared pregnant sheep at 85 to 110 days' gestational age, with the use of a conventional 2.7 mm. Hopkins straightforward wide-angle telescope (Stortz 27018A) encased in a prototype 3.1 mm. eccentric cannula which incorporates a 25 gauge needle channel. Fetal blood was aspirated in 12 lambs. Twenty-five animals were followed throughout the remainder of pregnancy: nine (36 per cent) aborted within three days-three weeks after endoscopy. The pregnant ovine appeared to be a useful experimental animal model for the development of an intrauterine endoscopy technique.