Selective ovarian sympathectomy in the rabbit.

Evidence implicates the ovarian nerves in the regulation of hormonal and ovulatory functions. A technique for selectively denervating the in situ rabbit ovary is therefore of considerable investigative value. The ovarian artery was stripped of its adventitia and nerve bundles. Three weeks later, fluorescent histochemistry confirmed the complete absence of adrenergic nerves in the vessel walls and ovarian stroma of the experimental ovary, as compared to the abundant fluorescent structures present in the contralateral control ovary. The surgically treated ovaries demonstrated no significant ischemic or trophic change on gross and routine histologic examination.