THE OCCURRENCE OF CORPORA LUTEA ATRETICA IN THE OVARIES OF PREGNANT DOMESTIC RABBITS

Abstract

SUMMARY: Corpora lutea atretica were present in 40% of pregnant domestic rabbits and accounted for 7·6% of all corpora lutea. They occurred relatively more frequently during that part of the year when the rabbit breeds most freely, and were probably all formed at the beginning of pregnancy from unruptured mature follicles. It is suggested that their formation may be associated with a state of definite endocrinological imbalance since their distribution is not uniform throughout the population and is significantly related to an increased loss of ova before implantation.