Proton magnetic relaxation times T1 and T2 for normal types of cervical secretions

E Odeblad; Ingelman-Sundberg A; Asberg K; Höglund A; Strandberg-Bergström L

doi:10.3109/00016348409155558

Menstrual Cycle · Cycle Biomarkers

Proton magnetic relaxation times T1 and T2 for normal types of cervical secretions

Odeblad E, Ingelman-Sundberg A, Asberg K, Höglund A, Strandberg-Bergström L

Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica, 63(7), 667-8, 1984

DOI 10.3109/00016348409155558 PMID 6097089

RRM Academy Synopsis

Five cervical mucus types differ in relaxation times in fertile women

A 1984 laboratory study of 158 cervical mucus samples from 58 women with proven fertility found that each of five mucus types had significantly different T1 and T2 relaxation times. The types ranged from very fluid S mucus to very viscid G mucus.

Key Findings

The study analyzed 158 samples from 58 women aged 18 to 30 with proven fertility and no major gynecological disease, each taken from one secretory unit under colposcopic control.
Each sample was typed as S1, Lc, Lt, G- or G+ mucus by sampling time, canal location, sperm acceptance and flow viscosity.
The T1 values of all five mucus types differed significantly from one another, and the T2 values did as well, with slight overlap between types.
Within each mucus type, T1 and T2 correlated significantly only in S1 mucus.

Interpretation

This short communication reports a laboratory measurement study. Relaxation times were recorded by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) on small samples drawn into thin tubes. The participants were non-pregnant women. The authors note that the link between T1 and T2 in S1 mucus alone may reflect wide variation among the molecules of the other mucin types. The authors suggest that high-resolution NMR imaging may in future map where each mucus type lies in the cervical canal without invasive sampling, particularly in women with fertility problems.

RRM Context

Mucus-based fertility awareness methods, such as the Billings Ovulation Method and the Creighton Model, rely on observing cervical mucus. The paper describes the secretions behind those observations. S mucus is present only around ovulation, and G mucus appears after menstruation and after ovulation. A restorative approach treats mucus as a readable sign of the ovulatory cycle.

Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.

Abstract not indexed.

Topics

Menstrual Cycle › Cycle Biomarkers › Cervical Mucus · Diagnostics › Cycle Biomarkers › Cervical Mucus Monitoring

PMID 6097089 6097089 DOI 10.3109/00016348409155558 10.3109/00016348409155558 Odeblad et al. 1984, Odeblad 1984

Proton magnetic relaxation times T1 and T2 for normal types of cervical secretions

Five cervical mucus types differ in relaxation times in fertile women

Key Findings

Interpretation

RRM Context

Topics

By this author

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