Effects of adrenergic and cholinergic drugs on electrical and mechanical activities of the rat cauda epididymidis in vitro.
Electrical and mechanical activities of the rat epididymis (at 29 +/- 1.1 cm from the junction of the vas deferens) were recorded in vitro. The frequency of the spontaneous activity was 2.7 +/- 0.15/min. Adrenaline, phenylephrine, isoprenaline and carbachol increased the basal tension, frequency and amplitude of the contractions. Phentolamine, an alpha-adrenergic blocking agent, abolished the stimulatory effects of adrenaline and isoprenaline, but not those of carbachol. Propranolol and metoprolol, beta-adrenergic blocking agents, did not inhibit the stimulatory effects of isoprenaline. Atropine abolished the response to carbachol. The results suggest that alpha-adrenergic receptors but not beta-receptors are present in the rat epididymis.
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000322:Adrenergic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001285:Atropine / Q000494:pharmacology; D001337:Autonomic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D004822:Epididymis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D013565:Sympatholytics / Q000494:pharmacology
D000322:Adrenergic Agonists; D001337:Autonomic Agents; D013565:Sympatholytics; D001285:Atropine; D002217:Carbachol