Effect of the naturally occurring prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha on the human myometrium in vivo during pregnancy.

Hysterometry has been used to evaluate the effect on the human myometrium in vivo during early pregnancy of the naturally occurring prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha. The hystermetric technique is based upon the fact that mechanical distension of smooth muscle induces contraction. According to the analysis of the contractile responses, the effects of the agents have been determined quantitatively. The drug effects have been characterized by changes in myometrial response between registrations under basic conditions and during the infusion of the active agent, respectively. It was found that when these drugs were given in the doses usually employed in clinical practice, the effect on contractility of the PGF2 alpha compound was more pronounced than that of the PGE2. However, when describing the results on a microgram basis, the PGE2 was confirmed to be more potent than the PGF2 alpha by a factor of up to 7-8.