Day 8 - Pregnancy diagnosis

Question 1

Methods

Answer 1

• Behavioral assessment
• Vaginal examination
• Hormones (serum, blood)
  o Progesterone
  o eCG (PMSG = pregnant mare serum gonadotropin)
  o Estrogen (blood hormone)
• Rectal examination
  o Palpation (done by your hand)
  o Ultrasound

Question 2

Behavioral assessment

Answer 2

• 21 days lenght of heat
• Daily testing with stallion
• Put the mare next to a stallion at day 17
• Sexual behavior

Question 3

Vaginal examination

Answer 3

• At day 18-21
• Check vaginal mm, cervical opening
• Diestrus (after ovulation): CL present, lot of pregosterone, dry mm (high estrogen gives moist mm),
• Check cervical opening, open during heat!
• Proestrus: non-specific

Question 4

Hormones - progesterone

Answer 4

• Day 18-20
• Under 1, not preggo, over 1 preggo!
• Non-specific

Question 5

Hormones - eCG (PMCG)

Answer 5

• Day 35 - 120
• Prod by embryonic cups (?)
• False negative (after loss, embryonic cups still remain)
• Before 35 is false negative

Question 6

Hormones - Estrogen

Answer 6

• Day 12
• Secreted by fetoplacental unit
• Pregnancy diagn. and fetal viability

Question 7

Rectal palpation - Day 18-20

Answer 7

• Frequently used
• Uterine horn : increased tone
• Cervix: Firm, tightly closed

Question 8

Rectal palpation - Day 25-30

Answer 8

• Informative
• Close to biforcation, if we feel this = preggo (golf ball)
• Cranioventral side

Question 9

Rectal palpation - Day 35-40

Answer 9

Tennis ball, close to bifurcation

Question 10

Rectal palpation - Day 45-50

Answer 10

Soft ball
Ventral uterine wall is thin

Question 11

Rectal palpation - Day 60-65

Answer 11

Moves to uterine body, football, ventral abd cavity

Question 12

Rectal palpation - Day 100-120

Answer 12

Fetus felt with ballottement.
Expands more dorsally

Question 13

Rectal palpation - Day 150 - 210

Answer 13

Pregnancy cannot be detected, feel for ovaries and broad ligament. Ballottement

Question 14

Rectal palpation - Day 240

Answer 14

Foaling.
Uterus moves dorsally, easy to feel fetus

Question 15

US day 12

Answer 15

o earliest time to pregnancy check
o The circled black area = presence of embryonic vesicle = yolk sac

Question 16

US day 20

Answer 16

o Embryo appears in embryonic vesicle
o Brownish area: presence of the embryo
o Embryo ALWAYS detectable and visible on day 20 at the bottom on the vesicle as whiteish greyish structure

Question 17

US day 24

Answer 17

o HEARTBEAT!
o BmodeUScanbeused
o Could also use Doppler US, but not in this period: Detect fluid flow in the vessels

Question 18

US day 28

Answer 18

o Embryo is not located at the bottom of the vesicles - starts to move
o Can measure diameter of pregnancy and size of embryo: Embryo around 1 cm long
o Embryo connected to the wall (both R and L) of the embryonic vesicle

Question 19

US day 30

Answer 19

o Appearance of allantois sac
o But allantois sac becomes larger
because special fluid is accumulated which is produced by embryo, and the allantois sac is a storage place for fluid production: Fluid: urine!

Question 20

US day 38

Answer 20

Egg yolk has disappears –> energy from mother (from day 30)

Question 21

US day 41

Answer 21

o The embryo is floating in the allantois sac
o The umbilical cord is forming between the fetus and the pregnant uterine horns

Question 22

US day 57

Answer 22

o The horizontal cross section of the fetus is lying at the bottom of the uterine horn
o You can see the head and the body of the fetus

Question 23

Diagnosis of embryonic death - Size of embryonic vesicle

Answer 23

• Day10 – 11:3-4mm
• Day 10 – 16: 3-4 mm/day
• Day 17 – 25: no changes
• Day 25 – 28: 1.8 mm/day

Question 24

Diagnosis of embryonic death - presence of embryo

Answer 24

• Embryo ultrasonographically visible on day 20 – 21 at the bottom of the uterine horn
• Not visible by day 24 – 26 –> early embryonic mortality
  o You can detect embryonic vesicle but no embryo

Question 25

Diagnosis of embryonic death - Heartbeat

Answer 25

• Day 24 – 25 (earliest period for heartbeat detection)
  o Repeated examinations: every 1 – 3 days
  o No heartbeat by day 30 - early embryonic death

Question 26

Diagnosis of embryonic death - Embryo location and orientation

Answer 26

• Day 28 – 30: allantois one half of the vesicle
  o Embryo appears at the bottom of the vesicle, moves up and position detected
  in the middle
• Day 33 – 36: embryo dorsally
• Day 48 – 50: embryo ventrally
• Movement: 6 o ́clock position and 12 o ́clock position and (again) 6 o ́clock position