Studies on the duration of egg transport by the human oviduct. II. Ovum location at various intervals following luteinizing hormone peak

Abstract

The location of ova in the genital tract between 24 and 144 hours following the LH peak was determined in 23 normal women. Nineteen eggs were found in the Fallopian tubes between 24 and 96 hours and five eggs were recovered from the endometrial cavity between 96 and 144 hours following the LH peak. According to the present data and considering that ovulation occurs in the human subject nearly 17 hours after the LH peak, it is concluded that the transport of unfertilized ova in women is characterized by a period of retention in the ampulla, which lasts approximately 72 hours, followed by rapid transit through the isthmus and appearance of the ovum in the endometrial cavity around 80 hours after ovulation.

PIP: This study determined the location of ovum in the genital tracts of women at various intervals after the luteinizing hormone (LH) peak, in order to answer the following questions concerning ovum transport: 1) how soon and for how long after the LH peak can eggs be recovered from the fallopian tube, and 2) what is the relative time spent by eggs in each portion of the fallopian tube. Also addressed was the question of how soon, and for how long after the LH peak, can eggs be recovered from the uterus? 23 normal women were studied and their ova were located in their tubes after surgical intervention, which occurred from 24-144 hours after LH peak, based on results of blood assays for this hormone. In all 19 eggs were found in tubes between 24 and 96 hours and 5 eggs were recovered from the endometrial cavity between 96 and 144 hours after LH peak. Since it has been determined that ovulation occurs about 17 hours after LH peak, these data show that transport of unfertilized ova in women is characterized by a period of retention in the ampulla which last about 72 hours; this retention period is followed by very rapid ovum transit through the isthmus; the ovum appears in the endometrial cavity about 80 hours after ovulation.