Bioscientifica Proceedings

Summary. The corpus luteum (CL), via progesterone production, plays a central role in the regulation of cyclicity and in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in ruminant species. In the absence of an embryonic signal, the CL will regress functionally and then structurally. Pulses of prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) from the uterus reach the ovary via the vascular utero-ovarian plexus causing the demise of the CL. Although it is well established th...