CIGARETTE-SMOKE INHALATION AFFECTS THE REPRODUCTIVE-SYSTEM OF FEMALE HAMSTERS

The purpose of this study was to determine if inhalation of mainstream (MS) or sidestream (SS) smoke affects the reproductive organs of fema le hamsters. Females inhaled smoke from one or two cigarettes twice pe r day for 30 d prior to mating using a smoking machine equipped for no se only breathing. Serum cotinine levels were within the ranges found in active and passive humans smokers. On day 7 of pregnancy, the repro ductive organs of controls and smokers were evaluated for the total nu mber of corpora lutea (CL), the percentage of normal, pink, and small CL, the vascular area in the CL, the ultrastructure of the oviductal e pithelium, the ratio of ciliated to secretory cells in the ampulla of the oviduct, the stretchability of the uterine horns, the percentage o f implantation sites, and the percentage of touching implantation site s. All parameters, except the percentages of implantation sites and of small CL, were affected by exposure to smoke. To determine if the eff ects of smoking on the ovary and uterus could be reversed, females smo ked for 30 d, remained in their cages without smoking for 30 d, and th en were mated and evaluated on day 7 of pregnancy. In this reversal ex periment, all ovarian and uterine parameters (except total CL) previou sly affected by smoking were normal in MS and SS females. These experi mental observations show that components in both MS and SS smoke, when delivered at levels comparable to those human smokers receive, can af fect the ovary, oviduct, and uterus.