Abstract
Histological studies on the artery of the uterine wall were performed in 30 adult female Japanese serows, Capricornis crispus. Gravid sclerosis was found in the myo- and endometrial arteries of parous serows. In nulliparous adult females, the internal elastic lamina is thin and poorly indented, whereas in the females that kidded one to three times, it is thick and full of indentation. In females that kidded more than four times, double- or multilayered elastic laminae, hyperplastic elastic fibers and degenerated nuclei of smooth muscle cells in the media were observed. In females that kidded eight times or more, degeneration of hyperplastic elastic fibers(elastosis)and disappearance of nuclei of smooth muscle cells in the media were noted. This study suggests that histological examination of the uterine wall enables one to identify a female serow of unknown breeding history as parous or nulliparous and to estimate how many times it has kidded.
