Abstract
Oxytocin and vasopressin content of the neurohypophysis was determined by means of bioassays in pregnant rats before, during, and after spontaneous as well as oxytocin- induced parturition. Before parturition the levels of oxytocin and vasopressin in the neural lobe were equal on Days 21 and 22 of gestation. Immediately after spontaneous parturition the content of both hormones was about 60% of the prelabor values. At the delivery of the first fetus the oxytocin level had decreased by only about 10%, which is not a significant difference, while the vasopressin content of the posterior lobe was almost as low as at the end of parturition. When parturition was induced by oxytocin or combined oxytocin-arginine-vasopressin infusions, the pituitary oxytocin level was unchanged but the level of vasopressin was as low as after spontaneous delivery. Infusions of exogenous hormone to pregnant rats before term did not alter the endogenous hormone levels, indicating that no neurophypophysial accumulation of oxytocin ...
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