Cyclic fluctuation in noradrenaline transmitter of the monkey oviduct.

Cyclic variations in noradrenaline of the sympathetic nerves ("short adrenergic neurons") innervating the smooth musculature of the oviduct have been determined by fluorescence histochemistry and fluorometric measurements in monkeys (Macaca mulatta). During the secretory phase there is more than twice as much neuronal noradrenaline in the oviduct compared with the proliferative phase. This suggests, that the system of adrenergic nerves in the primate oviduct is involved in the motility changes associated with alterations in the level of endogenous estrogen and progesterone during the menstrual cycle.