Cyclic variations in noradrenaline of the sympathetic nerves ("short adrenergic neurons") innervating the smooth musculature of the oviduct have been determined by fluorescence histochemistry and fluorometric measurements in monkeys (Macaca mulatta). During the secretory phase there is more than twice as much neuronal noradrenaline in the oviduct compared with the proliferative phase. This suggests, that the system of adrenergic nerves in the primate oviduct is involved in the motility changes associated with alterations in the level of endogenous estrogen and progesterone during the menstrual cycle.
PIP: Cyclic fluctuations in noradrenaline transmitters in the smooth musculature of the oviduct were measured by fluorescence histochemistry and fluorometrics in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). The amount of neuronal noradrenaline in the oviduct during the secretory phase was more than twice that during the proliferative phase (p less than .01). The results suggest that the adrenergic nerve system of the oviduct in this species particpates in changes in oviductal motility associated with changes in the levels of circulating estrogen and progesterone over the course of the menstrual cycle.