Transport of particulate matter through the human female genital tract

Abstract

Summary. A small quantity of India ink placed in the uterine cavity before laparotomy was found to have been transferred to the Fallopian tubes in more than 50 % of the observed patients. Transfer from the cervical canal occurred in nearly 30 % of patients but transfer from the vagina occurred only once in thirty-seven observations. The influence of the phase of the menstrual cycle, the use of Syntocinon and the state of the Fallopian tubes is considered. Rowson (1955) showed that radio-opaque material introduced into the cervix of the cow at artificial insemination was spread rapidly throughout the whole of the uterine horn; at oestrus, the spread extended into the Fallopian tube but, during the luteal phase, it was limited to the horn. The rate of transport of spermatozoa in the cow has been shown to be influenced by oxytocin. (Van-Demark & Moeller, 1951). In the human subject, Egli & Newton (1961) found that carbon particles passed from the vagina to the Fallopian tubes within a few minutes of placement in two out of three patients