Relaxin and progesterone secretion by aging corpora lutea (days 90-120) was examined in pregnant and lactating gilts compared with that in hysterectomized animals. The length of pregnancy is about 115 days in pigs. Unmated gilts were hysterectomized on day 6 (estrus = day 0). From days 90-101, relaxin concentrations in peripheral plasma remained consistently low in pregnant gilts (range, 0.7-1.5 ng/ml) and less (P less than 0.05) than those in hysterectomized animals (range, 0.9-3.5 ng/ml). Relaxin increased abruptly (P less than 0.01) to a peak of 66 ng/ml in pregnant gilts and 37 ng/ml in hysterectomized animals. Relaxin peaked in pregnant animals at 113 +/- 0.7 days (+/- SE) and in hysterectomized gilts at 113 +/- 0.7 days; gestation length averaged 114 +/- 0.8 days. In pregnant gilts, relaxin decreased from a peak of 66 to 11 ng/ml within 1 day and remained low (less than 1.0 ng/ml) in these lactating dams until day 120. In hysterectomized gilts, peak relaxin also decreased abruptly from 37 to 4.2 ng/ml, but remained consistently greater (P less than 0.05) than that in lactating dams. Although there were abrupt shifts in relaxin concentrations within 20 min, there was no evidence for consistent episodic relaxin release between days 112-116. Plasma progesterone concentrations were consistently greater (P less than 0.05) in hysterectomized than in pregnant gilts from days 102-110. Progesterone decreased abruptly in prepartum gilts (days 111-114) from 16 to 1.2 ng/ml and remained low during lactation (0.5 ng/ml). In hysterectomized animals, it decreased abruptly on days 110-113, ranging from 20-12 ng/ml, and remained at this lower level until day 120. These results clearly indicate that a precisely timed peak release of relaxin and coincident decrease in progesterone secretion occur in unmated hysterectomized gilts at the same time as those found a few hours preceding parturition during normal pregnancy. These abrupt shifts in relaxin and progesterone secretion on days 112-113 in both hysterectomized and pregnant gilts may be regulated autonomously from within the ovary or from the central nervous system and pituitary gland.