V irtually all hormones, neurohormones, neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, drugs, and other
ligands initiate their biological effects by binding to specific receptors. Myometrial function is
regulated by intracellular steroid receptors that exert long-term responses at the genomic
level and plasma membrane receptors that elicit rapid responses. At the organ level,
functional complexity derives from the existence of paracrine routes of regulation by
substances generated in adjacent tissues. Myometrial cells can be influenced in this way by …