Intra-abdominal adhesions may interfere with fertility following gynaecological surgery and injury to the peritoneum plays a central role in the pathogenesis. Tissue plasminogen activator and its antagonists play a pivotal role in the intra-abdominal balance between fibrinolysis and adhesion formation. This process may be cycle-dependent in women. In order to establish the impact of the fibrinolytic activity on adhesion formation after a standardized trauma, a rabbit longitudinal model was developed, which allowed the study of possible differences between the periods before and after ovulation. The influence of extra-genital adhesions on early embryonic development was investigated. No cycle-dependent changes in fibrinolytic activity of the peritoneal fluid (PF) or of the serum could be demonstrated. No correlation was found between post-operative adhesion formation and the fibrinolytic activity during surgery. Three weeks after surgery, a significant increase in fibrinolytic activity of the PF was observed. The rank order of sampling is suggested to account for these differences. Extra-genital adhesions did not markedly influence ovulation, ovum pick-up and fertilization in this hormonally controlled rabbit model.