Unilateral Hysterectomy Research Articles

Regression of corpora lutea in unilaterally pregnant guinea-pigs.

SUMMARY Corpora lutea of unilaterally pregnant guinea-pigs regressed in the ovary adjacent to a non-gravid uterine horn while luteal maintenance occurred in the opposite ovary adjacent to a gravid horn. Severence of the utero-ovarian vascular and tissue connexions of the non-gravid uterine horn prevented unilateral regression during unilateral pregnancy and also appeared to cause asynchronous maintenance of cyclic corpora lutea that prolonged the length of oestrous cycles. Unilateral hysterectomy also prevented luteal regression during unilateral pregnancy. One-third of the females in which the vascular and tissue connexions between the ovary and non-gravid horn were left intact did not contain corpora lutea in the ovary adjacent to the non-gravid horn. Most of the remaining females in the same treatment groups contained smaller corpora lutea in the ovary adjacent to a non-gravid horn than in the ovary adjacent to a gravid horn. The presence of a sterile uterine horn tended to cause a decrease in the size of corpora lutea located in the contralateral ovary during the last half of pregnancy.

Local nature of utero-ovarian relationships in the pseudopregnant rat.

Three experiments were conducted with a total of 190 female Holtzman rats. The first experiment confirmed the reported prolongation of luteal function by bilateral or unilateral hysterectomy of pregnant and pseudopregnant rats. In the second experiment (5 groups of 20 rats) unilateral ovariectomy had no significant effect on the length of pseudopregnancy, while unilateral hysterectomy caused a lengthening of pseudopregnancy to 15.8 days (p <0.01). When unilateral ovariectomy and unilateral hysterectomy were combined ipsilaterally the length of pseudopregnancy was not different from that in the control rats (13.3 vs. 13.6 days). Unilateral ovariectomy and unilateral hysterectomy, contralaterally, resulted in a lengthening of pseudopregnancy to 17.4 days. In the third experiment 40 rats were unilaterally ovariectomized and unilaterally hysterectomized, ipsilaterally, on day 7 of pseudopregnancy. When the remaining oviduct (10 rats) was ligated and cut, the length of pseudopregnancy was not different from th...

Ovarian hypertrophy after unilateral hysterectomy.

After unilateral hysterectomy the ovary on the same side undergoes temporary hypertrophy. The opposite ovary hypertrophies to a lesser extent. The greater increase in size of the ovary on the one side appears to be associated with the occurrence of oestrus. After approximately 1 week it involutes to about the size of its fellow.