[Vascular imaging in the area of the uterine horn and adnexa in the rabbit].

To demonstrate the vascular supply of uterus and adnexas, 5 white New Zealand rabbits were perfused with methylmetacrylates i.a. and i.v. In 15 other white rabbits, the uterus horns had been coagulated pelviscopically by monopolar or bipolar high frequency current or by endocoagulation, either immediately or 30 days before perfusion, in order to show impairment of the vascular system after coagulation. The destruction area after endocoagulation largely corresponded to the amount of tissue grasped by the crocodile forceps. After bipolar high frequency coagulation, the arcades of the arteria and vena uterina were destroyed, including the ramus ovaricus and tubarius. After monopolar high frequency coagulation, the degree of vascular destruction was higher than suspected from the morphological changes: 5-8 cm of the vessels of the uterus horn and mesometrium were lacking, and even the arteria and vena uterina were severely damaged. When the vascular supply of the ovaries was inspected, it was seen that the arteria ovarica provides the main blood supply of the ovary, the tube and distal parts of the uterus horn in these animals. Therefore the hypothesis that a disturbed ovarian function after operations on the tube resp. uterus horn may result from damage to branches of the uterine artery, does not hold for the rabbit. On the contrary, one has to assume that ovarian dysfunction after uterus horn manipulations are caused by interference with the adrenergic nervous system and not by a direct interruption of ovarian blood supply in the rabbit.