HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by MITCHELL, M. D. Articles by ROBINSON, J. S. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by MITCHELL, M. D. Articles by ROBINSON, J. S.

Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford, 0X3 9DU

(Received 21 July 1978)

It now seems likely that prostaglandins play an important role in the mechanisms of parturition in many species (Flint & Hillier, 1976; Thorburn, Challis & Robinson, 1977), including the goat (Thorburn, Nicol, Bassett, Shutt & Cox, 1972; Currie & Thorburn, 1977). This evidence has been further strengthened by the demonstration of the production of prostaglandins in vitro by uterine tissues from goats during late pregnancy (Mitchell, Flint, Robinson & Thorburn, 1978b). The recent discovery of prostacyclin (Moncada, Gryglewski, Bunting & Vane, 1976) has added a new dimension to prostaglandin research since in some biological systems it has a greater potency than other prostaglandins (Moncada et al. 1976; Omini, Moncada & Vane, 1977). Prostacyclin is highly unstable in aqueous media and degrades spontaneously to 6-oxo-prostaglandin F₁ (6-oxo-PGF₁; Johnson, Morton, Kinner, Gorman,