Comparative Pregnancy Diagnosis

Question 1

in general what are the options for diagnosing pregnancy?

Answer 1

1. behavior:failure to return to estrus
2. palpation: per rectum, abdominal
3. ultrasound: trans-rectal and trans-abdominal
4. hormonal assays
5. other modalities: ballottment and radiographs

Question 2

what species might you observe the behavioral return to estrus in order to determine pregnancy? what is the benefit of this?

Answer 2

ruminants, equine, swine, feline can all have estrus behaviors observed in a non-invasive method

Question 3

transrectal palpation is mostly used for __ while transabdominal palpation is mostly used to __

Answer 3

cattle + equine, K9+ felines + small ruminants

Question 4

why would a horse in diestrus have a firm uterus?

Answer 4

embryo is moving around the uterus until day 16 -> think bouncing against the walls letting mom know its there

Question 5

earlier in the pregnancy __ would work well for determining __ and __ with high accuracy

Answer 5

ultrasound, fetal viability and aging

Question 6

Hormonal assays are easy and cheap but may have false positives due to what?

Answer 6

due to parturition or abortion all hormonal assays may come back positive weeks -> months later. Especially in dairy cows that are rebred 90 days later the hormonal assays may come back positive since its ~close to parturition.

Question 7

what makes fetuses visible in late gestation?

Answer 7

mineralization

Question 8

In bovine, PAGS are __ specific while Progesterone is __ specific

Answer 8

pregnancy, luteal

Question 9

what are the 4 cardinal signs of pregnancy in the bovine per rectal palpation?

Answer 9

1. membrane slip of chorioallantois (day 35)
2. amniotic vesicle (d 35)
3. placentomes (d 75)
4. fetus (d 65)
   pregnancy is based on 2 of these 4 being present

Question 10

the CL is __mm diameter on day __

Answer 10

20-25mm, 20-22

Question 11

you should check a transrectal AUS before day __ in case the there are __ and you want to abort before the embryo is __

Answer 11

14, twins, stuck

Question 12

what hormone can be used to pregnancy test a horse using serum or urine?

Answer 12

estrone sulfate(>90 days)

Question 13

after your initial check of the equine at 14 days, when should you check again to confirm viability?

Answer 13

recheck after day 25 to confirm viability

Question 14

___ are the leading cause of non-infectious abortion in the mare and can be reduced by __

Answer 14

twins, manual reduction of one twin the ultrasound probe (separate it to tip of horn away from the other)

Question 15

it important to know how many fetuses are in small ruminants to prevent __

Answer 15

nutritional deficiencies

Question 16

__, __ and __ are ways to detect pregnancy in small ruminants

Answer 16

failure to return to estrus, ultrasound, and ballottement

Question 17

does return to estrus in __ days while ewes should return to estrus in __ days

Answer 17

21, 17

Question 18

alpacas may be ultrasounded __ days after mating while you should wait till __ days after mating for llamas

Answer 18

23, 34

Question 19

what is a non-invasive way to assess if a camlid is pregnant?

Answer 19

bring male into females enclosure-> if pregnant she should be angry/displeased that the male is there

Question 20

what is the average return to estrus for pigs?

Answer 20

21 days

Question 21

in porcine preg checks a __ with a boar may be performed to see if anyone was missed

Answer 21

heat check

Question 22

__ and __ are more commonly used in swine than hormones (serum estrone sulfate)

Answer 22

ultrasound and behavior

Question 23

abdominal ultrasound is possible at __ days post breeding in swine and you can see the embryo proper at __ days

Answer 23

18-19, 25-32

Question 24

for canines, on abdominal palpation you should feel a string of pearls around days __ , then from day __ you can ultrasound and then radiograph are safe after day __

Answer 24

21-28, 22, 40-45

Question 25

what 4 things can you identify on ultrasound after day 22?

Answer 25

confirmed pregnancy
fetal viability
gestational aging
counts but usually inaccurate

Question 26

pregnant female cats will fail to return to estrus in __ days

Answer 26

4-17

Question 27

when can you feel a string of pearls on abdominal palpation for queens? palpable fetuses?

Answer 27

25-30 days, >50 days

Question 28

queens can have transabdominal ultrasound > __ days post ovulation and radiographs > __ days from ovulation

Answer 28

21, 41