Electrical Activity in Human Uterine Muscle Strips

IN spite of increasing interest in functional disorders of the human uterus and clinical investigation, the obstetrician has little control apart from stimulation of uterine contractions. Premature labour leading to prematurity is at the present time the greatest single preventable cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality^1–3. Much of the present-day investigation attempts empirically to use smooth muscle relaxants to prevent premature activity, without a basic understanding of the mechanism of normal uterine muscle control. It is not known, for example, how oxytocin exerts its stimulatory action on the gravid uterus.