Ovarian arterial blood velocity measured with Doppler ultrasonic transducers in conscious ewes.
Changes in the mean velocity of ovarian arterial blood flow during the oestrous cycle were monitored in 5 ewes by the use of doppler ultrasonic transducers chronically implanted around the ovarian arteries. In arteries supplying ovaries with a corpus luteum (CL), the velocity was minimal from Day -1 to Day 2 inclusive (Day 0 = day of oestrus), increased steadily until Day 13 (-4) and then declined precipitously. In contralateral arteries supplying ovaries without a CL, the velocity remained at a consistently low level throughout the oestrous cycle. In each ewe, arterial blood velocity to the ovary with a CL and progesterone levels in peripheral plasma were highly correlated; within-individual correlations falling between r = 0.830 (P < 0.001, n = 15) and r = 0.936 (P < 0.001, n = 15). The changes in the velocity of the arterial supply to the ovulatory ovary and  the pattern to that for weight of luteal tissue in similar ewes.
D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D003338:Corpus Luteum / Q000098:blood supply; D004301:Doppler Effect; D004971:Estrus; D005260:Female; D009929:Organ Size; D010053:Ovary / Q000098:blood supply*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D012756:Sheep / Q000502:physiology*; D014159:Transducers; D014463:Ultrasonography
D011374:Progesterone