This project was just started in 1994. One animal was instrumented and a partial experiment was performed. The purpose of this set of experiments is to determine whether intramembranous absorption occurs in primate pregnancies as we have shown to occur in ovine pregnancies. This route of absorption from the amniotic cavity into fetal blood vessels on the fetal surface of the placenta explains the finding of fetal urination being greater than fetal swallowing. This pathway represents a potential route of direct fetal therapy in human pregnancies if we can demonstrate its presence in nonhuman primates. This proposal received funding from the Hibbard grant requests from the university of california at davis medical center. The first animal surgery was performed and complications of leakage of amniotic fluid from around the externalized catheters occurred. In addition, the fetal vascular catheter clotted, requiring direct fetal blood sampling. Our protocol has been changed to provide a watertight closure of the uterus and a continuous infusion to maintain catheter patency.
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