Repro Flashcards
Small Animal - Cycle Timings
Pro-oestrus - 19 days
Oestrus - 10 days
Luteal - 2 months
Anoestrus - 4.5 months
Gestation - 63-63 days
Progesterone
Small animal - CL only
high in luteal phase –> pseudopregnancy, pyo
LH
Stimulates ovulation
Pregnancy diagnosis - small animal
endocrinological changes - Progesterone
US - day 17
palpation - 21 days (walnuts), 32 days (sausages), 50 days (can identify puppies directly)
radiography - day 45 (earlier on there are no bones so can’t see puppies)
physical changes/pregnancy signs - linked to endocrinological changes
plasma relaxin concentration - formed by placenta from day 25
physical signs of pregnancy - small animal
teats and mammaries - reddening, enlargement, secretions (more obvious in first pregnancies)
vulval discharge
increased HR
increased appetite
weight gain
abdominal enlargement
relaxation of perineal tissue/vulva
gestational aging - small animal
organ formation (kidneys in last 20 days)
measurement - gestational sac, crown-rump length, head diameter, trunk diameter - breed specific measurements
pseudopregnancy
covert - increase in prolactin during luteal phase
clinical - true pseudopregnancy
behaviours - nesting, agression
physical signs - reddened teats
less common in cats - from sterile matings
usually do nothing
if bad - prolactin inhibitors
don’t spay while in pseudopregnancy - removes negative feedback loop
pyometra
luteal phase
bacterial contamination while cervix is open
open or closed types
may see discharge
iatrogenic - caused by administration of oestrogen
can use antibiotics for open pyo
looks like pregnancy on US - mickey mouse ears
pregnancy diagnosis in the queen
reddening and enlargement of mammaries
palpation - day 21-25
relaxin monitoring - day 25
US - 3 weeks
radiography - day 40
indications for termination
unwanted pregnancy
size mismatch
age
dystocia risk
medical indications
approaches to termination
surgical - ovariohysterectomy in late pregnancy, ovarioectomy early
pharmacological:
- oestrogens
- anti-progesterogens - day 1-45
- prostaglandins - after day 25
- dopamine agonists - after 30 days
- late pregnancy - prostglandins or dopamine agonists
parturition - signs - small animal
LH and progesterone measurement
behavioural - restless, seeking seclusion, inappetence, nesting, shivering
drop in body temp
perineal and abdominal muscle engagement
increased HR
lactation - 24 hours before, more common first time
imaging - to estimate gestational age - teeth at day 58-63
no significant temp drop in queen
stages of parturition - small animal
preparation - relaxin –> relaxation of pubic symphysis
contractions - restless, nesting, temp drop - puppies rearranging position for birth
expulsion of foetus - rectal temp back to normal, passage of foetal fluids, abdominal straining
expulsion of placenta and foetal membranes
puerperium - reinvolution of uterus
dystocia - small animal
expulsive force not sufficient
foetus too big or otherwise abnormal
birth canal not wide enough
abnormal presentation
can delay birth if don’t feel ready
dystocia - primary inertia
lack of force due to dietary insufiiciences
most common
more in bitches than queens
exercise - stimulates contractions
digital stimulation (feathering) - stimulates oestrogen
administration of calcium
oxytocin - stimulates contractions
dystocia - secondary inertia
too tired to continue contractions
correct cause - remove obstructions
make sure no obstruction before giving drugs - can lead to uterine rupture
foetal issues - small animal
presentation
position - not pressing against cervix
posture
disproportion
physical indications for intervention - small animal
weak straining over 2-4 hours
strong straining over 20-30 mins
fluid passed 2-3 hours ago but nothing else
greenish discharge but no puppies at 2-4 hours
2-4 hours between birth of last puppy and no progress
if second stage labour more than 12 hours
diagnostic indications for intervention - small animal
vaginal exam - dilated? lubrication? positioning, size, posture of foetuses? foetal membranes? relative size of birth canal?
US - determine if puppies are alive and if they are distressed
normal foetal HR - 180-240bpm
<180bpm - distress
<150bpm - immediate intervention needed
radiography - malformed foetuses of abnormal positioning
drug induction - small animal
oxytocin
calcium
tocyclic
surgical intervention dystocia - small animal
epidural
episiotomy - enlarges birth canal
c-section
euthanasia
c-section - small animal
emergency indications -
- primary or secondary uterine inertia
- uterine rupture or torsion
- malposition
- foetal death
- foetal distress
postpartum checks
normal - slightly elevated temp, serosanguinous vaginal discharge, uterine involution in 12-15 weeks
abnormal - temp over 39.5c, thick dark discharge, haemorrhagic discharge, serosanguinous, discharge longer than 6 weeks
placenta should pass in 4-5 hours
Mare reproductive exams
pre breeding
pre purchase
breeding management
infertility workup
pregnancy diagnosis
import/export
poor conformation - mare
pneumovagina
urovagina
endometritis
cervicitis
infertility
windsucker test
part vulva lips and listen for in-flush of air - test of vestibular vaginal sphincter
use - transrectal US - horse
cycle staging - oestrus endometrial folds, dioestrus homogenous texture
use - vaginal exam - horse
changes in cervix during cycle
- oestrus - more secretions, more vascular, more relaxation
- dioestrus - dry, pale, closed
- abnormalities - anatomical, build up of unwanted materials, inflammation, variscosity, tears, adhesions
manual cervix check - integrity, patency, adhesions, other abnormalities
semen collection - stallion
artificial vagine
electroejaculation
manual collection
problems during semen collection - stallion
urine in semen
blood in semen
urine crystals
low motility
low concentration
abnormal morphology
semen evaluation - stallion
smell
colour
volume
sperm concentration
motility
number of sperm
pH
morphology
cytology
bacteriology/virology
stallion inspection
sperm evaluation
libido and mating behaviours - ability to identify oestrus female, achieve erection, mount, achieve intromission and ejaculation
internal and external genitalia - tears, palpation, US, testes size
culture - penis, urethra, fossa glandis
serology
endocrinology
endoscopy
oligospermia/azoospermia
no sperm
either not formed or obstructed
testicular degeneration
common in stallion
contributing factors - age, temp, toxins, nutrition, vascular disease, neoplasia, endocrine
feel soft to palpate and small
scrotal oedema
US to check if actually oedema or blood or something else
thermal trauma
impacts number of sperm in ejaculate for 60 days
spermatocytes most vulnerable to thermal injury
calf castration methods
rubber ring - under 1 week
bloodless - under 2 months (using nerve block)
surgical - any time by veterinary surgeon (using anaesthetic)
calf castration complications
not getting both testes
infection (including tetanus)
bloodless - catching urethra and/or bladder if done when testes not properly descended
lamb castration methods
rubber ring - under 7 days
emasculator (bloodless) over 7 days (local anaesthetic)
surgery - over 3 months (anaesthetic)
horse castration
6 months - 1 year
can leave stallion to grow to 3/4 years to allow more muscle growth
after this behaviours are learned so won’t be corrected by castration
in field or theatre
horse GA field
ACP - wait 30-45 mins
detomidine - wait 5 mins
ketamine - induction then IV top ups
horse GA theatre
ACP - wait 30-45 mins
detomidine - wait 5 mins
ketamine - induction
intubate then isoflurane in oxygen for maintenance
mastitis risk factors
udder natural defences compromised
high bacteria numbers at teat end
udder natural defences bypassed
udder defences
teat canal - keratinocytes, lipid secretions, sphincter muscle
phagocytes (somatic cells)
frequent milking - flushing
antibodies
lectoferrin
individual signs of mastitis
abnormal milk or udder changes - secretion, size, texture
no milk (agalactia)
blind or non-functional glands
hungry neonate (won’t see in dairy as not fed from cow)
pain - altered gait
enlarged supramammary lymph nodes
teat and skin lesions
herd level signs of mastitis
high bulk milk cell count
chronic high cell counts
general sickness - deaths from e. coli
higher number needing to be culled
california mastitis test
trace - slight slime formation when paddle rocked
1+ - distinct slime formation right after mixing, dissipates
2+ - distinct slime formation, bottom of plate exposed
3+ - distinct slime formation surface of solution convex
septic mastitis
usually gram negative - coliforms
signs - recumbency, weakness, depression, inappetence, tachycardia and tachypnoea, fever, rumen stasis, diarrhoea
endotoxemia –> hypocalcemia
endotoxic shock –> multi organ failure
summer mastitis
dry cow
spread by flies - trueperella pyogenes
increased by wet, muddy environments
purulent infection
abscesses
painful to strip out
usually won’t milk again in that quarter after it’s cleared
mastitis diagnosis
milk culture
PCR
masticide
california milk test
response to treatment
electrical conductivity of milk - increased with higher somatic cell count
common causes of mastitis
incorrect teat spray volume or application
teat end damage
excessive damage
over/under milking
unsuitable teat cup liners
cup slip
poor cluster removal
mastitis pathogens
contagious - staph aureus, strep agalactiae (gram +Ve)
environmental - strep uberis, entero/aero/lactococcus sp, t. pyogenes, bacillus, clostridium (gram +ve)
e. coli, klebsiella, enterobacter, psuedomonas (gram -ve)
vaccum phases milking
a+b - starting suction and continuous suction - 60-63% of cycle
d - rest phase - important for teat health, blood flow back to teat
liner tension
test by sticking finger in while suctioning
decreases with age - moutpiece slips of teat
service liners every 2.5k milkings
silk liners last longer - 8k milkings
dynamic milk parlour test
overmilking
liner fit
flow away from teat
reverse vacuum gradients (splash back of bacteria onto teat)
pulsation
bull fertility rates
complete infertility - 5-10% - no semen or all dead
sub fertility - 20%+
fully fertile - mature bull with 50 healthy cycling cows should get >60% in calf in 3 weeks and >90% in 9 weeks
causes of bull infertility
failure to mount - eg. poor libido, injury, overwork
failure to achieve intromission/ejaculation
failure to achieve fertilisation
bull soundness examination
BCS
heart and lungs
eyes
jaws and teeth - need to be able to eat enough to keep up with work
locomotion
reproductive tract
semen analysis
libido/service assessment
infectious disease
bull semen collection
mated female - internal artificial vagina
artificial vagina
ampullae massage
electroejaculation
motility assessment
gross motility - graded 1-5
progressive motility - % with forward motion (need warmed slide)
sperm cell abnormalities (morphology)
pear head
double head
abnormal acrosome
swollen midpiece
coiled tail
double tail
cow pregnancy detection
transrectal US - 28 days, can sex embryos from 55-60 days
manual palpation - 35 days
Pregnancy associated glycoprotein etsting
progesterone monitoring - if flat progesterone then probably pregnant
knocking - pushing belly - 7 months
non-return to heat
twins - cattle
usually double ovulation not split ovulation
more energy to grow
smaller at birth
freemartinism
higher rate of embryonic loss
early vs late embryonic death - cattle
early <18 days - doesn’t change cycle length
late 18-45 days - changes cycle length
submission rate
proportion of eligible animals served within a given time period (usually 21 days)
visual signs of oestrus - cow
mucous vaginal discharge
cajoling
restlessness
being mounted but not standing
sniffing vagina of other cow
resting chin on other cow
mounting or attempting to mount another cow
mounting head side of other cow
standing heat
conception rate
proportion of served animals that are pregnant at pregnancy detection
pregnancy rate
proportion of eligible animals pregnanct in given time period
stages of labour - cattle
1 - first uterine contraction to burst water sack - can take hours
2 - after bag burst, contractions every few mins - intervention after 30 mins in cow, 60 mins in heifer
initial assessment - cattle parturition
surroundings
presentation
foetal-maternal diproportion
obstruction
twins
malformation
metabolic conditions - eg calcium needed for muscle contraction
foetal-maternal disproportion - cattle
calf too big or too small
dam factors - age, weight, BCS, nutrition
calf factors - gestation length, breed, sire
herd level significance - if often a problem then need to review strategy and plan for earlier intervention for remaining cows
crossed legs - may be a sign off shoulders being too big
c-section in very bad cases
obstruction - cattle
normal - still in 1st stage, undilated, just needs more time
abnormal - undilated cervix with comorbidity (eg hypocalcaemia), uterine torsion, malpresentation, pelvic abnormalities
post calving management
check for tears
check for additional calves
rehydrate
nutrition
stress management
client management - lessons to learn, herd level implications
immediate post calving challenges
retained fetal membranes - infection
nerve damage
tears/bleeding
uterine prolapse
hypocalcemia
trauma
other concurrent disease
ram fertility exam
around 20% have sub optimal fertility
identify infertile or sub-fertile
avoid economic loss
promotes genetic progression
fertile ram definition
capable of getting 85% of 60 normal healthy naturally cycling ewes in lamb in first cycle
expected to achieve 85% pregnancy in 40 normal healthy ewes in first cycles
key ram hormones
testosterone - leydig cells - development of testes, initiation and maintenance of spermatogenesis
FSH - anterior pituitary - targets leydig and sertoli cells
LH - anterior pituitary - targets leydig and sertoli cells
Inhibin B - sertoli cells - controls FSH secretion
Ram MOT
Signallment - age, ID, species, breed, both testicles?
history - previous clinical issues, vax, treatments, lameness, nutrition, fertility, other disease
full clinical exam - nose through toes, BCS, reproductive tract exam
Ram reproductive tract examination
scrotum and contents - palpate testes and epididymis, scrotal circumference
- 30cm @ 12 months
- 32cm @ 12-24 months
- 36cm @ +24 months
Penis - palpation through skin, protrusion in extended position, serving exam when erect
Ram penile abnormalities
deviation
trauma
failure of erection
hematoma
pizzle rot
short retractor penis muscle
Ram scrotal pathology
testicular hypoplasia or degeneration
epididymitis or epididymal aplasia
cyst
sperm granuloma
dermatitis
parasites
subcutaneous fat
positioning - lateral rotation
pendulous
scrotal frenulum
hernia
ram - semen collection
artificial vagina - gold standard - teaser ewe, ram needs training
vaginal aspiration - teaser ewe, disease risk and risk of contamination
electroejaculation - small proportion doesn’t work
ram - semen assessment
colour
smell
contamination
density/grade
gross motility - swirl
progressive motility - % moving forward 1x cell length per second (minimum 60% acceptable)
morphologucal exam of semen sample - nigorsin stain
ram - common sperm abnormalities
pyriform heads
micro/macroencephalic sperm
nuclear vacuoles
knobbed acrosome
detached heads
proximal cytoplasmic droplets
distal midpiece reflex
coiled tails
coiled principle piece
bent tails
abaxial tails
accessory tails
effect of stress on semen - ram
eg. high temp/inflammation/trauma
reduced sperm concentration
reduced motility
increased morphological defects
sex ratio of sperm
signs seen 1 week-10 days after scrotal stress
common diseases affecting ram fertility
brucellosis
caseous lymphadentitis - cheesy gland
foot rot/CODD
parasites
nutritional deficiences
Bovine TB
Johnes
