Repro 3 Flashcards
define the placenta and what consists of
any site of contact between embryonic and maternal tissues that allows for exchange of materials between the two Consists of: - maternal endometrium - extra-embryonic foetal membranes: •allantois •chorion •Amnion •(yolk sac)
Amnion what made up of, function and what is the special feature in ruminants
made up of trophoblast and embryonic mesoderm; chorioamniotic folds expand dorsally and fuse over embryo -> creating the chorioamniotic raphe/mesamnion; the amniotic cavity is filled with amniotic fluid, which protects the embryo/foetus from any impacts and provides the foetus with an environment in which it can move its limb and body;
chorioamniotic raphe/mesamnion what is it, what species present in and its function
- Not present in horses just a ruminant and pig thing
- Attachment between the amnion and chorion
- Anchors the embryonic cavity to one spot
Allantois what is it, what does it fill with and what does it combine with to form
diverticulum of the hindgut; fills with foetal waste fluids; grows in between amnion and chorion (if growing completely around -> loss of mesamnion); allantoic mesoderm fuses with the mesoderm of the chorion -> forming the allantochorion; allantois is vacularized by allantoic arteries (branches of aorta) -> allantoic veins (umbilical veins) enter the foetus via the umbilicus (review foetal circulation)
what occurs in terms of nutrients before placenta is formed and after, does the maternal blood come into contact with the foetal
Before placenta is formed nutrients -> are provided by the endometrial glands (histotrophe- uterine milk)
Once placenta is formed nutrients -> is supplied by the haemotroph nutrition (essential metabolites are provided by the maternal circulatory system
- BUT AT NO POINT does the maternal blood come into contact with foetal blood
what are the 2 main functions of the placenta
1) Exchange of gas and nutrients between dam and foetus, foetal waste removal
2) vital endocrine organ!
○ In some species it is the sole source for pregnancy maintaining progestogens in later gestation
What are the 4 main types of barriers separating maternal from foetal circulation
1) Epitheliochorial - all 6 layers retained, found in sow and mare
2) Endotheliochorial - endothelium directly on chorionic epithelium of the foetus, carnivores
3) Hemochorial - lose the endothelium so the blood vessels are free within and contacting the chorionic epithelium
- This is why you see blood when giving birth in humans
NO BLOOD IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS IN NORMAL BIRTH
4) Synepitheliochorial - migration of trophectodermal binucleate cells into the maternal epithelium, ruminants
contact surface of the placenta why is it different in different animals
- The more layers between foetus and dam the bigger the surface area has to be!
○ (epitheliochorial -> synepitheliochorial -> endothelialchorial -> haematochorial)
Type of placentation in horses/pigs, ruminants, dogs and cats and primates
Horse - diffuse - diffuse distrubution of villi
Ruminants - Cotyledonary - caruncles
Dogs and cats - zonary - band - only attach on the band
Primates - discoid - small area
what are the 3 configuration of chorionic attachment to the maternal epithelium
- Folded- folds & troughs, rugae & fossae
- Villous- chorionic villi & endometrial crypts & septa
- Labyrinthine- chorionic villi or lamellae
What are the 3 different degrees of invasiveness (is maternal tissue lost when foetus is
1) Deciduate: maternal tissue is lost when placenta is discontinued (endothelialchorial, haemochorial)
○ Primates, humans and dogs
2) Non-deciduate (adeciduate): maternal tissue is NOT lost when placenta is discontinued (epithliochorial)
3) Partial-deciduate: due to fusion of the epithelial -> partial
Cotyledon and placentome what are they and what animals present in
Cotyledon:
- Form were trophoblast is in touch with caruncle
- consists of abundant blood vessels and connective tissue
Placentome:
- placental unit; consists of foetal cotyledon and maternal caruncle
○ Caruncle -> determine where the cotyledons are formed
§ Have some redundancy and is formed by the maternal endometrium
- cattle: 70-120; sheep: 80-100
Foetal cotyledon
- Within the caruncle in the sheep
Outside of the caruncle in the cow
What time does attachment to caruncles of uterus starts, and when well established
- Attachment to caruncles of uterus is initiated at day 16 (sheep)/ 25 (cattle)
- Attachment well established at day 30 (sheep)/ 40 (cattle)
what makes a synepitheliochorial placenta and what species present in
- Complete intact layer of epithelium in both the maternal and fetal components
○ However, in sheep and goats the endometrial epithelium transiently erodes and then regrows -> intermittent exposure of maternal capillaries to chorionic epithelium -> therefore classified as synepitheliochorial or syndesmochorial
Binucleate giant cells when appear in cow, where originate from and what is their function
- Appear ~14 days in sheep and between day 18 and 20 in the cow
- Originate from trophoblast cells and invade endometrial epithelium; constitute ~20% of bovine placenta
- Transfer complex molecules between fetus and dam; secretory component: proteins, estrogen and progesterone
○ Can take up haemoglobins
Cattle when does amniogenesis occur, allantois and mesaminion and is yolk sac present
- Amniogenesis occurs between days 13 and 16
- The allantois starts to form between second and third week of gestation; fills the extra-embryonic coelom by the fourth week
- Mesamnion present: attachment zone between amnion and chorion
- Yolk sac is only functional for a short period and degenerates
○ Can’t see at term in the ruminants
Amniotic plaques what are they, where found and possible causes
- Amniotic plaques (mineral deposits) are found on amniotic ectoderm around umbilical stalk Causes: Hyperkeratinisation of the amnion - Incidental finding May be caused by rubbing or calcium
urachus where run, from where and function
- All animals in the embryonic stage, runs between the 2 umbilical arteries
- From Apex of the bladder though the umbilical cord, where it runs parallel to the blood vessels and empties into the allantois
Shunted from the urethra -> some through urethra to the amnion
what is the chorionic girdle and what animal present in
Chorionic girdle - only in horse
- Located around the embryo
- made up of invasive, binucleate trophoblast (foetal cells that invade the endometrium)
What is meant by diffuse, villous, microcotyledonary in the horse, when start to occur, area between villi what called and what occurs at day 35
- Microscopally diffuse regions at foetal-maternal interface of chorionic villi-> foetal chorion interdigitates with maternal endometrium -> larger surface of attachment and not as much redundancy so need proper placenta to get full forming calf
- Distributed over entire surface of the chorioallantois
- Start to interdigitate: day ~35 -> when placenta really starts forming
- Areas in between villi are called arcades
- At day 35 trophoblast cells have divided into invasive and non-invasive components
○ Important day in pregnancy
Endometrial cups/glands what species in, what do they produce, function and what is the most important feature about them
- Produce equine chorionic Gonadotropins (ecG) -> aid in recruitment, development, and luteinization of additional follicles (won’t ovulate but will start making progesterone -> instead of one CL get lots of CL’s (secondary/accessory CL’s)
§ Ovaries will be palpably larger -> between day 60-120 - Once formed independent of the embryo so if lose embryo then will not cycle again until regresses after day 120
- ecG production peaks between 60 and 80 days; declines thereafter and is gone by 120 days
Are attacked by the maternal immune response at this point -> push out of endometrium and into the membrane
yolk sac which animal is it seen grossly
The yolk sac in the horse remains relatively large and can be seen as a remnant at term
Equine Placentogenesis when does fixation occur, aminiogenesis and allantois
- Day 16-17 -> FIXATION OF THE EMBRYO to the base of the horn
- Amniogenesis occurs between day 17 and day 22
- The allantois starts to form around day 22 is vascularized by day 25
Umbilical cord what are the 2 parts and where does it run
- Intra amniotic - where urachus runs through the amniotic cavity
- Extra amniotic cord - outside the amniotic cavity where empties into allantois
- Runs from the umbilicus of the foetus crosses the amniotic cavity and ends at the boundary of the amnion
what is the difference in membranes at birth with horses and cattle
Horses -> head first and see the amnion
- Amnion acts as lubrication
○ Can suffocate within the amnion
Chorion allantois breaks first -> water breaking
Cattle -> feet first - mesamnion -> holding the amnion back in the uterus
Hippomanes what species present in and what are they
- Amorphous, khaki-brown colored lumps
- Formed from fetal waste products
- Incidental finding
porcine placenta when does chorionic folds form, when is placenta established, what occurs with litter membranes and the tips
- First chorionic folds around fourth week -> know the ball park figures not individual figures - AROUND 3 - 4 WEEKS
- Apposition to endometrium well established from fifth week (epitheliochorial)
- Several foetal membranes of neighbouring foetuses may fuse -> as litter species so little room within
- Tips of Chorioallantois remain free and become necrotic (it out grows the embryos blood supply)
Areolae what species, what are they, when form, function
PIGS
- Small, round, grey, thickened foci on Chorion
- Formation starts in second month of gestation
- Focal accumulations of secretory gland products (histiotroph - similar to arcades in horses
placentation in carnivore what does it look like
- Zonary placenta (: attachment of chorion epithelium with maternal endothelium in a broad band
- Highly convoluted chorionic villi fuse and form chorionic cords next to the maternal endothelium
=> labyrinthine organization
What are the 3 things a difference in placentation can lead to
- Transfer of Immunoglobulins
- Susceptibility to pregnancy loss due to luteolysis
- Puerperium - the time after birth when animals can fall pregnant again
○ Dog 120 days -> independent on whether pregnant or not (as always thinks its pregnant)
○ Horses -> once foetal membranes removed don’t have issues -> 10 days after birth
§ Depends on the remodelling that needs to occur
What are the 2 main source of progestagens for the equine and the sequence of events
Uterine progesterone
1. The primary CL is the main progesterone horse in the equine pregnancy until about day 40 of gestation
2. The weight of the embryonic cups increases rapidly over the first 3 weeks
3. The production of ecG (produced by the cups) is closely related to the weight of the endometrial cups
4. ecG initially stimulates the primary CL to produce more progesterone
○ ecG is LH-like there results in luteinization of the follicles
○ FSH-like action in other species
5. High circulatory ecG concentrations then lead to the luteinisation of more follicles resulting in accessory CL
○ At this point the pregnancy is considered more safe
6. After day 100 the placenta takes over the role for the main production of progestagens
when the placenta takes over the role of making progesterones what is mainly produced
○ Now considered placental progesterone -> not actually high at this point
○ Equine placenta progestagens -> 5-alpa pregnanes -> main production from the placenta
THEREFORE total progestagens is measured not just progesterone as they will be low while total is high
what is the issue until the point the placenta takes over in the animals and what is special about the horse
Until the point the placenta takes over vulnerable to progesterone causing luteolysis -> only need one shot of progesterone to induce abortion
Equine after day 60 has accessory CL as a safeguard so would need to give more than one shot to induce abortion
At what point in the horse does termination of pregnancy not result in return to oestrus and what can prolong this
- Termination of pregnancy >34 to 37 days gestation (induced or natural) may not result in return to oestrus
- Persistence of endometrial cups may delay return to regular cycles for 3 to 4 months (the cups continue to function and produce eCG; they survive until the time of their normal demise)
○ No foal heat and doesn’t come back into heat
○ Diagnosing -> hysteroscopy
what occurs with pigs, cats, dogs and sheep with placental take over of production of progesterones
Pigs, cats, dog
- Never placental take over for the production of progesterone
○ Some progestagens produced by the placenta but not complete take over
Sheep
- After 1/3rd of the pregnancy the placenta will take over (day 50d)
Cattle
- After 6-8 months placenta will take over
- Will still have a CL
what is special about goats in terms of placental take over of production of progestagens
- Rely solely on their ovulatory CL for their whole gestation
○ Of give single shot of progesterone at pregnancy then will lose the pregnancy -> leads to luteolysis
Evolutionally difference for other animals - disadvantage for theses
Human Chorionic gondatropin (HCG) what produced by in what species, how and when detected, what basis for, when peak and effect
- Produced from the trophoblast cell of humans and non-human primates -> produced by chorion
- Detected in serum and urine as early as 8 to 10 days post conception
- Basis for pregnancy tests
- Peak at about 2.5 months of gestation
- Luteotropic effect on the ovulatory corpus luteum - increases its lifespan therefore increases the progesterone
○ Binds to luteal LH receptors and if given to non-pregnancy females in the late follicular phase it can induce ovulation