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ULTRASTRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE PLACENTA OF THE EWE FOLLOWING FOETAL INFUSION OF CORTISOL
Author(s) -
Jack P. M. B.,
Nathanielsz P. W.,
Thomas A. L.,
Steven D. H.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
quarterly journal of experimental physiology and cognate medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1469-445X
pISSN - 0033-5541
DOI - 10.1113/expphysiol.1975.sp002309
Subject(s) - placenta , fetus , gestation , hormone , endocrinology , hydrocortisone , medicine , biology , pregnancy , genetics
The placental changes which followed continuous infusion of cortisol into the sheep foetus in the later stages of gestation were, like the hormonal changes, broadly similar to those of spontaneous parturition. There was, however, a premature separation of foetal and maternal tissues in certain areas of the placental cotyledons, and this separation appeared to protect the foetal epithelium from the degenerative changes which normally take place in the short space of time between the birth of the lamb and the delivery of the foetal membranes. The results suggest that an experimental model in which premature labour is induced by the administration of cortisol to the foetus is probably incomplete, and that additional factors almost certainly contribute to the cascade phenomenon of spontaneous parturition.