THE EFFECTS OF THE MATING PATTERN OF THE MOUSE ON THE FORMATION OF CORPORA LUTEA

Abstract

Female mice were placed with males and subjected to three different treatments. One group experienced a low number of preejaculatory thrusts, the ejaculatory reflex and the formation of a copulatory plug. A second group experienced a variable number of preejaculatory thrusts, the ejaculatory reflex and the formation of the copulatory plug which was immediately removed. The third group experienced a variable number of pre-ejaculatory thrusts only. The results indicated that a large number of pre-ejaculatory thrusts is neither necessary, nor sufficient, for the induction of luteal activity in the female mouse. The ejaculatory reflex and the formation of the copulatory plug are sufficient to induce luteal activity regardless of the number of pre-ejaculatory thrusts. The results are compared with those of similar work on the rat.