Nerve fibres in the uterine artery increase in number in pregnant guinea-pigs.

ABSTRACT

Perivascular nerves of the uterine artery were studied in four-month-old pregnant and non-pregnant guinea-pigs. In pregnancy, the uterine artery hypertrophies (more than two-fold growth in diameter and length and 50% increase in wall thickness), but its density of innervation remains high, because of the growth of many new axons. The axons in a complete transverse section of the vessel increase by 40%. The nerve bundles grow by 100%. Small nerve bundles increase more than large bundles nearly 70% of the nerve bundles contain 10 or fewer axons in pregnant guinea-pigs (37% in non-pregnant animals). The increase in axon number is accompanied by formation of new varicosities, hence presumably of new neuromuscular junctions.