Male Breeding Soundness Exam Flashcards
What are 6 important parts of the male genital tract?
- testes - seminiferous tubules and collecting duct suspended by spermatic cord and cremaster muscle
- epididymis
- spermatic cord - vas deferens, pampiniform plexus (controls BP and temperature)
- accessory sex glands - ampullae, seminal vesicles, prostate, bulbourethral gland
- penis and prepuce
- hypothalamus and anterior pituitary
What species does this genital tract belong to?
bull - sigmoid flexure, testicle position
What species does this genital tract belong to?
dog - bulbus glandis
Male accessory sex glands based on species:
What are the 2 types of penises? What species have each?
FIBROELASTIC SIGMOID = high BP, commonly injures female, stretches
- ruminant, boar, camel
VASCULAR = engorges
- dog, cat, stallion
Where do the different species deposit semen?
- VAGINA = ruminant, dog, cat
- UTERUS = stallion, camel
- CERVIX = boar
How often should bulls get a BSE? What are 3 important parts of the exam? What is not evaluated?
every bull, every year 30-60 days before breeding season - not goof for life
- PE - exam at a distance, BCS (6-7/9), penis, prepuce
- scrotal circumference
- semen evaluation - motility, morphology
libido
What are 4 characteristics of a satisfactory potential breeder? What animals are classified as deferred?
- free of physical abnormalities that would affect fertility
- scrotal circumference at or above the minimum for age (indicative of sperm #)
- sperm motility >30%
- proportion of normal sperm >70%
cannot be rated as satisfactory, but are likely to improve with time and/or therapy
What are 3 important parts of the physical exam for bulls getting a BSE?
- EYES - epiphora, blepharospasm, ulcers, SCC
- FEET and LEGS - cracks/wear on claws, interdigital space, joints
- PENS and PREPUCE - swelling, hair rings, penile warts (BPV), persistent penile frenulum (heritable!)
How is the scrotum examined in a bovine BSE? What is scrotal circumference correlated to? How is it measured?
- shape
- symmetry
- consistency
- dermatitis
- scars
- swelling, edema –> common in hot conditions
semen production
push both testes down into the scrotum by applying gentle pressure at the scrotal neck and use flexible tape at the position with the largest circumference
In what 2 ways can bovine semen collection be performed?
- electroejaculation - application of low-level electrical stimulation to the nerves responsible for erection, ejaculation, and emission, must evacuate feces to allow contact between probe and rectal mucosa
- artificial vagina - commercial bull stud, quiet non-estrous cow, or estrogen-tested steer
What is indicative of vesiculitis on palpation?
loss of lobulation
What are 5 characteristics of a satisfactory equine BSE? What is this designed for?
- free of physical abnormallities
- good libido - electroejaculation not used
- semen and urethral bacterial culture not consistent with infection
- negative for sexually-transmitted bacteria
- produce a minimum of 1 billion motile, morphologically normal sperm in two ejaculates collected one hour apart
stallions breeding 40 mares by natural service or 120 mares by AI
How is scrotal width measured in stallions? What is it related to?
calipers or U/S
size is related to daily sperm output (DSO) –> collection for 7-8 days until numbers are stable or as part of the 2 collections in the BSE
When is daily sperm output in stallions highest?
sping/summer —> DSO should be at least 1x10^9 any month
What 3 pathogenic bacteria are stallions testes for as part of the BSE? When is it performed? What sites are tested?
- Taylorella equigenitalis
- Pseudomonas spp
- Klebsiella spp
before washing –> excess washing alters microbiota
urethra, urethral fossa, and penile sheath
What are 2 options for equine semen collection?
- artificial vagina
- chemical ejaculation - without aid of estrual mare or phantom –> Imipramine followed by Xylazine, Detomidine, Butorphanol (inconsistent!)
How is the artificial vaginal used to collect equine sperm? Why is it able to work?
- use a jump mare or phantom to tease before collection —> erection, swab, wash
- grab penis
- introduce into artificial vagina
- tail flagging (6-7 jets) = ejaculation
provides pressure, temperature (45-48 C), and lubrication like natural copulation
How do the samples from artificial vagina and chemical ejaculation in stallions differ?
- AV - contains gel fraction from vesicular glands (can impair sample)
- CHEMICAL - does not contain gel fraction (not used for DSO)
What are the 3 fractions of equine ejaculate?
- pre-sperm - prostate
- sperm-rich - prostate, bulbourethral, testes
- gel - vesicular gland, filtered and discarded
What 3 stimuli can be used for canine semen collection? How is the sample collected?
- female dog in estrus
- vaginal swabs from estrual bitches
- PGF2a 15 mins prior to collection
- digital manipulation
- penis exposure - bulbus glandis engorgement, hold causally, step over
- interrupt after seeing third fraction (clear prostatic fluid)
What are 3 options for collecting feline semen?
- artificial vagina - training, assembled collection tube, teaser queen
- electroejaculation - under GA, rectal probe directed downward toward pelvic floor, often has urine contamination
- urethral catheterization - after induction with alpha-2 agonist and methadone (Dexmedetomidine + Methadone )
How is urethral catheterization performed in cats to collect semen samples? What volume is expected?
- introduce it gently and slowly into the urethra to a total depth of 8-9 cm
- collected by capillary action
small volume, but highly concentrated
What are 2 options for collecting small ruminant semen?
- electroejaculation - for BSE, should occur after 4-6 rhythmic stimulations for the ampullae and sacral nerve plexus, erection will occur if placed correctly but a ram may ejaculate without an erection
- artificial vagina - for breeding purposes, warm water bath, teaser doe/ewe
What are 2 characteristics of camelid semen?
- dribble ejaculators - constant throughout copulation
- viscous seminal plasma - need to add collagenase or trypsin to see semen movement
What are 3 methods of collecting camelid semen?
- artificial vagina - trained to used dummy female
- electroejaculation
- post-coital aspiration from female - normal to have some blood due to penile trauma
What kind of ejaculator are boars? What method of collection is recommended?
pressure ejaculator
trained to mount a phantom + gloved hand technique
- deflect penis
- digital pressure on gland to mimic cervical lock
- ejaculates in phases up to 5 mins with spermatozoa emitted in first fraction
- filter out gel fraction with gauze over collection vial
- collect 50-500 mL determined by weight
What gloves are used for collecting swine semen? What is avoided?
polyvinyl
latex –> toxic to sperm!
What 4 parameters of semen are analyzed?
- volume
- concentration
- motility (total and progressive)
- morphology
What 2 complementary tests are often done on sperm?
- hypo-osmotic swelling test - evaluates functional integrity of the plasma membrane of spermatozoa by exposing them to lactose –> intact membrane = able to pump water out = tail coils
- measure alkaline phosphate in ejaculate - marker of ejaculation, >5000 IU in dogs, >1000 IU in horses = true ejaculation
What is the gold standard for analyzing concentration of sperm? What are 2 other options?
hemocytometer - manual counting
- spectrophotometer - measure hour much light absorbed by a sample –> must have an undiluted, unextended semen
- NucleoCounter - nucleostaining with fluorescent dye (propidium iodide)
What 3 stains can be used to analyze sperm morphology?
- eosin-nigrosin (Hancock’s stain) - also dead-live
- Diff-Quik
- wet mount after formalin fixation
How many sperm should be counted for classification? What are primary and secondary abnormalities?
at least 100 sperm
PRIMARY = defects in sperm head, acrosome, midpiece, proximal droplets, and coils tails associated with spermatogenesis
SECONDARY = bent tails, distal droplets, detached morphologically normal heads, distal midpiece reflex
What is distal midpiece reflex?
reflex seen in bull sperm in response to stress there the midpiece folds over the distal droplet
