Electrical activity in the human oviduct during the menstrual cycle.
Electrical activity in 25 isolated human oviducts on different days of the menstrual cycle was recorded with six simultaneous suction electrodes in at least 18 locations. During the follicular phase, electrical activity consisted of a smooth, single slow spike that lasted 3 to 6 seconds, and on which was superimposed a fast spike(s) in the ampulla immediately after menstruation. The shape of this activity changed at midcycle, first in the ampulla and later in the isthmus, to a burst of potentials; in the ampulla it sometimes changed to a slow wave on which was superimposed a series of fast spikes. The pacemakers were stable and their number few. The electrical activity spread with a velocity of 1 to 3 mm/sec. The probability of spread toward the uterus varied with the location in the oviduct and with the day of the cycle. After menstruation, electrical activity spread in the uterine direction. On cycle day 12, activity spread toward the ampullary-isthmic junction (AIJ) from both ends of the oviduct. On days 14 and 15, it spread a short distance from the ampulla to the isthmus, through the AIJ. On cycle day 18, spread toward the uterus covered the uterine half of the ampulla. AIJ, and the isthmus. Two to 5 days later, no constant features could be detected in the spread. These findings suggest that the human oviduct functions like the oviducts of other mammalian species, with the spread of electrical activity and the transport of ova being related.
D000200:Action Potentials; D000328:Adult; D004566:Electrodes; D005187:Fallopian Tubes / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008598:Menstruation; D008875:Middle Aged; D009119:Muscle Contraction