Electromyography of the human uterus

The quality of smooth musculature in the human cervix is small. To determine the role of this musculature during labor, its electromyographic (EMG) activity was studied. In 13 parturient women of different parity and with various degrees of cervical ripeness at the onset of labor, the cervical EMG activity was measured throughout the entire course of labor in synchronization with intrauterine pressure measurements and in some cases in synchronization with measurements of the uterine corpus EMG activity. The conditions necessary for successful measurements are described. Differences were found between cervical EMG activities in primiparas and multiparas, ripe and unripe cervices, and the uterine corpus and the cervix, as well as changes in cervical EMG activities after application of oxitocin and spasmoanalgetics.<>