Blood Flow to the Oviduct of the Nonpregnant Rabbit

Distribution of the blood supply to the reproductive structures of the nonpregnant estrous rabbit doe was studied utilizing silastic plastic injection casts of the vessels in conjunction with selective ligation and measurements of blood flow by hydrogen gas desaturation. The vascular casts demonstrated patent anastomosing channels between the uterine and ovarian arteries as well as anastomoses within the oviductal supply between vessels arising from the ovarian and oviductal branches of the ovarian artery. Uterine blood flow equaled 0.588 ml/min/g in 18 does while oviduct blood flow equaled 0.584 in 17 females. The functional significance of the anastomoses was tested by ligating either the ovarian or internal iliac artery and measuring blood flow to the oviduct and to the uterus before and after ligation. After ovarian artery ligation, blood flow to the oviduct ceased while internal iliac ligation resulted in cessation of flow to the uterus. These data suggest that distinct functional regions of supply exist in each of the two arterial blood sources.