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Part of the book series: NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series ((NSSB,volume 73))

Abstract

We present here a study, performed by light-scattering techniques, of dynamical properties of a biological medium, the human cervical mucus. This medium exhibits a hydrogel-like structure (weak linkages1) containing up to 98% water. The solid phase is a tridimensional network, the meshes of which, for the studied samples, had a mean size equal to 5 ym (determined by scanning electron microscopy)2 (Figure 1). Rheological experiments3 have shown the strong non-new-tonian character of this medium. The distribution of relaxation times t, determined by viscoelastic measurements4, is very large.

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© 1981 Plenum Press, New York

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Cazabat, A.M., Volochine, B., Kunstmann, J.M., Chretien, F.C. (1981). Light Scattering Study of the Physical Structure of Human Cervical Mucus. In: Chen, SH., Chu, B., Nossal, R. (eds) Scattering Techniques Applied to Supramolecular and Nonequilibrium Systems. NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series, vol 73. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4061-4_46

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4061-4_46

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4063-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-4061-4

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