Placental blood flow measurements with radioisotopes in the pregnant guinea pig

In 15 pregnant guinea pigs near term the blood flow (BF) of the myometrium and the placenta as well as the cardiac output were measured with 99Tcsup(m)-labelled microspheres. In front of one placenta the clearance of 133Xe was estimated in the same animal. For the 133Xe measurement a theoretical concept is presented. The mean placental BF is 105ml/(minx100g)(SD:84) for 99Tcsup(m) and 244(SD:80)ml/(minx100g) for 133Xe. The difference in both flow values is assumed to be related to foetal placental BF. The placental blood flow is also related to the location of the placenta in the uterine horn. The ratio of myometrial blood flow to placental blood flow decreased with an increase in the mean arterial blood pressure. The measurements are a preliminary report of an attempt to compare two different methods in measuring placental blood flow. (author)