Hormonal and histological study of the luteal phase in women following aspiration of the preovulatory follicle.

A hormonal and histologic study of 60 luteal phases was carried out in 40 patients during spontaneous and stimulated cycles before and after follicle puncture for oocyte recovery. The duration of the luteal phase was modified neither by follicle rupture nor by hormonal stimulation. The aspiration of a spontaneous preovulatory follicle caused a temporary deficiency in plasma progesterone (P) (P less than 0.01) on the third day following aspiration, and a higher prolactin (PRL) level (P less than 0.02) on the ninth day. Dystrophia of the endometrium was observed in one-third of the cases, whereas the P level was normal. In cycles stimulated by clomiphene citrate, no P deficiency was observed. When luteinizing hormone (LH) discharge occurred spontaneously, biopsies carried out 3 days following follicle aspiration indicated a normal secretory state of the endometrium, and the P level was higher from, the sixth day following aspiration (P less than 0.05), as compared with the control cycles. This phenomenon was not observed when human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) was administered.