3. approach to pregnancy diagnosis Flashcards
what is the clinical importance of early pregnancy diagnosis
- rapidly identify fertility thus any problems in males and females to acto on it, as often a narrow window to breed
- assist with production system (rebreed or cull, management change)
- it may also satisfy the curiosity of the keeper
when is pseudopregnancy in the mare irrelevent
pregnancy failure/loss
1. occurs between days 1 and 5
- embryo lost whilst in uterine tube
- never knew she was pregnant as no MRP
- normal oestrus cycle
- between days 5 and 15
- no MRP
- normal oestrus cycle unless associated with uterine inflammation
what is pseudopregnancy type 1 in the mare
failure between days 15 and 36
- MRP has occured
- no return to oestrus
- primary CL will persist for normal lifespan for about 40 days then naturally regress
- CL can be lysed by the administration of pgf2a
what is pseudopregnancy type 2 in the mare
failure between day 36 and 140
- endometrial cups have formed –> producing eCG that will maintain the accessory CLs
- no return to oestrus
- accessory CLs will persist for their normal lifespan (150 days)
- CL cannot be lysed by the administration of pgf2a
- as eCG is protecting the CLs from prostaglandin
- wait for cusps to disappear before admin pgf2a
outline approaches to pregnancy diagnosis
explain how progesterone is used to diagnose pregnancy and how false -ves/+ves occur
- no decline in progesterone in blood/milk 21 days from mating (exact date depends on species
- false positivies may be due to progesterone remaining high with no pregnancy (ovarian pathology) for example persistent CL
- false negatives due to confusing animals or poor sample storage
- ideally requires frequent sampling
how are pregnancy recognition factors used to diagnose pregnancy
limited
- IFNT largely stays in uterine lumen, not circulation. few tests that can detect IFNT
- mare: dont know what the signal is
- dog: doesnt need pregnancy recognition hormone so nothing to detect
how are feto-pacental oestrogens used to diagnose pregnancy
later on
- the fet-placental unit produces both progesterone and oestrogens
- oestrogens are often found mid-pregnancy onwards in both plasma and urine
- higher concerntrations of oestrogen mid-pregnancy than in oestrus
- no false positive diagnoses
- pregnancy specific oestrogens
- however ideally you want to detect the pregnancy earlier than this method permits
what other pregnancy specific hormones are used to diagnose pregnancy
relaxin
- produced by CL in some species
- but also produced in placenta (bitch/mare)
- used for PD in bitch and queen (cannot use progesterone in dog)
placental lactogens
- produced by the placenta in several species
- luteotrophic
- commercial tests
discuss rectal palpation for pregnancy diagnosis
- requires systematic appraoch
- look for one horn and travel along to find the other
- look for one being enlarged
- unpregnant will be soft but the pregnant will be notable fluid filled and doughy
- best done in monovular species
- detects ballottment (can just about feel the head as theyll be deep in the abdomen and membrane slip (signs of pregnancy)
what are you looking for in abdominal palpation for PD
- detection of enlarged uterus
- ballottement of the fetus
how do you diagnose pregnancy via ultrasound
2 methods:
- doppler applied transabdominally (less common in animals than human)
- B mode real time via transrectal or transabdominal (pigs, dogs, cats probe cranial to hind limb pointing caudal)
what can you see on ultrasound in the early stages of pregnancy
- detection of conceptus
- normally anechoic structure
- representing yolk sac
- early pregnancy is packed full of fluids
- amnion and allantois fluids as pregnancy moves forward but initially yolk sac
- i.e anechoic in nature as fluid
what is the clinical significance of eultrasound examination for migration of equine conceptus
- careful examination required to ensure the diagnosis of twins enabling remedial action as appropriate
- 2 embryos in image below: one must be popped therefore diagnosis must be made early to allow this to be done
- requires careful palpation as these embryos are migratin at this point and might not be ipsilateral with the CL ovary
what can you see on ultrasound at a slightly later stage of pregnancy
detection of an embryo and heartbeat
what can you see on ultrasound later on in pregnancy
bovine: see spinal cord and ribs. at the top, circles surrounded by anechoic area might be placentomes.
canine: limb bid development
why should you check ovaries while doing a PD ultrasound
demonstrate CLs or other likely confirmatory changes
how do you diagnose pregnancy via radiograph
- possibly detect uterine enlargement
- see mineralisation of the skeleton at the point where mineralisation occurs (depends on gestation length)
- common in dogs to count number of offspring but hard and never definitive
list physical changes associated with pregnancy
- increased appetite
- weight gain
- abdominal enlargement
- relaxation of the perineal tissue
what physical changes are indicative of pregnancy
- auscultation of fetal heart beats
- uterine artery enlargement and change in flow (turbulent buzzing feel called fremitus)
list external secondary changes in pregnancy
- no return to oesturs
- teat and mammary gland enlargement and reddening (not reliable in bitch or cow except first calving, dog will develop whether preg or not)
- secretion of milk in late pregnancy
- waxing up in the last few weeks prior to birth (sticks to bottom of teat)
list internal secondary changes in pregnancy
- cervial mucous: long period of elevated plasma progesterone –> mucus may become very dry and tacky (thick, opaque, pale yellow and rubbery)
- vaginal wall thinning: oestrogen increases layers of vaginal wall, prolonged progesterone = few layers in vaginal epithelium (detected by biopsy)
which methods are most commonly used for pregnancy diagnosis in the cow
blue = common
- failure to return to oestrus is a key marker in cows
- will be presented to vet for difinitive dx
- farmer might test milk
compare pregnancy diagnosis techniques in the cow and their relative levels of accuracy
- milk progesterone is earliest method we can use. pretty good at determining not pregnant, less good at saying yes is pregnant
- rectal palp cant be done reliably until later on
what are the most commonly used methods of PD in sheep
- failure to be raddled best way to assume pregnant
- sheep are very fertile
- transabdo US from day 30 to detect fluid in uterine horns then later detect the caruncles. but normally do this around 50-60 days to determine number of offsprng to adapt husbandry
what are th most common methods of PD in the sow
- sow usually very fertile
- not returning to oestrus good indicator
- transrectal takes longer to do, usually transabdo to look for fluid in the uterine horns. later in preg can see embryo
what are the most common methods of PD in the mare
trans rectal US done from day 12-15 for detection of twins (esp on stud farms)
what are the most common methods of PD in the bitch
whaty are the nmost common methods of PD in the queen
- transabdo US
- relaxin
- abdo palp
if a pregnancy is lost on day 60 in the mare she will:
be pseudopregant until day 160
how early in pregnancy can embryonic/fetal fluids be reliably detected in the cow
day 24
the presence of which hormone in the blood indicates pregnancy in the dog
relaxin
in the cow, which one of the following indicates to the owner that she might be in early pregnancy
failure to return to oestrus 21 days after mating
you are presented with a cow for PD 50 days after mating. what is the most appropriate PD method
transrectal palpation of enlarged uterine horn
what is the effect of eCG on the pregnant horse
stimulates formation of accessory CL and progesterone
in the sow when does the placenta take over as the primary source of progesterone
never
which cell produce placental lactogen in the bovine
binucleate cells
