Kelsi N. Dodds

Introduction The uterus is a major organ of the female reproductive tract that is richly innervated by sensory nerve fibers. In addition to detecting various innocuous and noxious stimuli, uterine sensory nerves can release neuropeptides in an efferent manner to modulate uterine contractions (Klukovits et al., 2004), blood flow (Gangula et al., 2003), and other regulatory processes critical for reproductive success (Collins et al., 2002).

Animals and surgery Procedures were approved by the Animal Welfare Committee of Flinders University (ethics approvals #861-13 and #933-16), and all protocols carried out in accordance with the National health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian code for the care and use of animal for scientific purposes (8th edition, 2013) and recommendations from the NHMRC Guidelines to promote the wellbeing of animals used for scientific purposes (2008).