A NOTE ON THE EFFECT OF ADRENALIN UPON STRIPS OF EXCISED PREGNANT HUMAN UTERUS

A large number of studies (1) have been performed to determine the excitability of excised strips of pregnant and non-pregnant human uteri. To Rübsamen and Kligermann (2) credit should be given for having been the first to observe the effect of suprarenalin upon excised strips of both gravid and non-gravid human uteri. They noted suprarenalin to produce contraction or increased tonus in both types. Two years later, without apparent knowledge of previous work having been done upon the human uterus, Gunn (3) studied the effect of adrenin upon strips of excised uteri of rabbits, cats and guinea pigs. He also studied the effect of this drug in four strips of excised human Fallopian tubes and in one instance upon the uterus. He found adrenine to produce contraction, i. e., increased tonus, in both organs and therefore concludes “unless, however, the human uterus has a still different type of sympathetic innervation from that of all the animals which have been examined, the probability is that adrenine will have a motor effect on the pregnant human uterus, and that, therefore, the use of sympathominetic substances in labor is justified.” In 1915 Lieb (4) reported the effect of epinephrino upon a strip of excised non-gravid human uterus and its effect upon strips of “parturent” human Fallopian tubes. From these experimental observations he believes the conclusion to be justified that the sympathetic innervation of the human uterus is always motor in quality.