title: Goat fetuses disconnected from the placenta, but reconnected to an artificial placenta, display intermittent breathing movements.
abstract: To investigate whether placental factors are involved in the intermittent breathing movements in goat fetuses, we assessed electrocortical activity (ECoA) and tracheal pressure in 5 fetuses (124-135 days) separated from the placenta and connected for 48 h to an extrauterine fetal incubation system that provided umbilical arteriovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The fetal physiological condition on this system was almost the same as that in utero for at least 48 h after the preparation. All fetuses showed intermittent low-voltage ECoA and breathing movements. The breathing movements occurred almost exclusively during periods of low- voltage ECoA. The proportions of time spent in low-voltage ECoA and breathing movements were 48-57% and 46-56%, respectively. In conclusion, breathing movements of fetuses on the extrauterine incubation system were episodic, suggesting that intermittent breathing movements are intrinsic to fetuses, independent of placenta-derived factors.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001187:Artificial Organs; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology*; D006041:Goats / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate; D007044:Hysterectomy; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007186:Incubators, Infant; D010920:Placenta / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D012119:Respiration; D014132:Trachea / Q000502:physiology