Introduction
Counter-current transfer may be defined as a passive transfer of energy (heat) or substances from one solvent to a second solvent. The solvents may be flowing through closely connected tubes with walls impermeable to the solvent, but open for passage of either heat or the substance itself.
Counter-current transfer can be viewed as a means of local regulation of organ function. Temperature regulation is one example. Cooling of the arterial supply will result in a decrease in the temperature of the organ. An organ can be kept at a lower than body temperature (testis) or be able to maintain 37°C despite a high metabolic activity (brain). A second example concerns endocrine function such as transfer of testosterone from the testicular vein (where the concentration is 10 times greater than in the general circulation) to the testicular artery. The concentration of testosterone in the local arterial supply to all testicular and some epididymal tissues is therefore greater than that to the remainder of the body.
Hormonal regulation of body function is often categorised into two groups: the ‘real’ hormones that are distributed equally to all organs through the systemic circulation (classical endocrinology), and the paracrine effects between neighbouring cells that are based on local diffusion. Paracrine regulation works only over minute distances; substances will diffuse only fractions of a millimetre before they reach and transfer to capillary blood. We wish here to bring a third possibility into play: local counter-current transfer by means of a local increased arterial concentration will facilitate hormonal regulation within an organ through the locally increased concentrations of the regulatory substance(s). If the transfer takes place between the major in and outflow of blood to an organ, the feedback will involve the entire organ and, eventually, other organs supplied from the same artery; an example is the interplay between ovary, Fallopian tube and uterus (see below). If it concerns small-organ blood vessels, the regulation will concern only those parts; an example of this is the ability of large ovarian follicles to maintain a temperature lower than that of the ovarian stroma (see below).
To set the stage: a 332-year-old drawing of the genital system in a woman clearly showed the ovarian artery in close connection with the utero-ovarian vein (De Graaf 1672; Jocelyn & Setchell 1972). The overall functional importance of this was neglected until the 1970s, when separation of the two sets of vessels (without interruption of the blood flow) resulted in a prolonged lifespan of the corpus luteum in sheep and cows (Ginther 1974, 1976).
Local counter-current transfer of heat and substances has been found in many animal species and demonstrated between many organs. The present article will review local transfer between the vessels of the reproductive organs of both males and females (Einer-Jensen 1988; Einer-Jensen et al. 1989). Although the brain is not viewed classically as a reproductive organ, transfer between the brain vessels will also be discussed