Unit 1 - Parturition & Reproductive technologies Flashcards

1
Q

What does Partuition require?

A
  1. Signal from foetus
  2. Cervical Softening
  3. Co-ordinated myometrial contractions
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2
Q

What occurs in stage one of Parturition? How long does this last?

A

(2-6 hours)

  • regular uterine contractions
  • cervical shortening and dilation occurs
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3
Q

What is a latent phase of cervical dilation? How is this different from active phase?

A

latent- slow dilation

active- rapid dilation

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4
Q

What occurs in stage two of Parturition? How long does this stage last?

A

(30-120 mins)

complete delivery of foetus, rupture of membranes and abdominal contractions

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5
Q

What occurs in stage three of Parturition? How long does this stage last?

A

(5-8 hours)

Delivery of placenta

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6
Q

What is hypertrophy in relation to Parturition?

A

oestrogen stimulates the muscle cell size to increase

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7
Q

How does the myometrium contract? (4 steps)

A
  1. spontaneous depolarizing pacemaker potential occurs
  2. when the magnitude of these potentials is higher than the critical threshold a burst of action potentials occur
  3. intracellular calcium increases in the extracellular fluid and endoplasmic reticulum
  4. the calcium binds to regulatory sites on actin & myosin, allowing expression of ATPase & causing contractions
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8
Q

What is Brachystasis?

Which cells undergo this process?

A

when contractions retract the lower uterine segment at the cervix to create a birth canal.
Myometrial cells

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9
Q

What is the junction between the upper and lower segments of a uterus called?

A

Retraction Ring

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10
Q

What is the role of hormones in Contractions?

A

Oxytocin lowers excitation threshold of muscle cells

Prostaglandins stimulate liberation of Calcium from intracellular stores

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11
Q

How is Oxytocin regulated?

What does it lead to?

A
  • synthesised in the hypothalamus and transported axonally to the posterior pituitary.
  • Released in response to the stimulation of the cervix by the foetus
    Leads to..
    Myometrial contraction (+ve feedback loop)
    Prostaglandin release
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12
Q

What is the Fergusson reflex?

A

contraction initiated by pressure at the cervix or vaginal walls

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13
Q

What is Primary Uterine Inertia? What is is caused by?

A

failure to initiate contractions at start of parturition

caused by lack of oxytocin

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14
Q

What is secondary uterine inertia?

When is this most common?

A

uterine contractions at start, uterus then becomes fatigued and therefore contractions stop.
Common in large litters

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15
Q

Cervical softening involves what three things?

A
  1. reduction of collagen fibres
  2. increase in proteoglycan matrix fibres
  3. endocrine control
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16
Q

What hormone is involved in Cervical Softening?

A

Prostaglandins - breakdowns collagen & stimulate uterine contractions

17
Q

What is Ring Womb?

What is it caused by?

A

failure of the cervix to soften despite uterine contractions being normal
Caused by -
lack of prostaglandin
also linked to selenium deficiency

18
Q

How is a Vaginal/ Uterine prolapse treated?

A

Vulva suture, prolapse harness or cull after parturition

19
Q

How is Parturition started in Sheep? [what hormones are involved?]

A
  1. Foetus becomes stressed and releases ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) leading to cortisol increase
  2. Rise in cortical leads to decrease in progesterone
20
Q

What is ART technology? What is the purpose of it?

A

Assisted Reproductive Technology

increase chances of fertilisation & achieve pregnancy

21
Q

What are the 6 steps of IVF (in-vitro fertilisation)?

A
  1. Superovulation
  2. Egg retrieved from ovary
  3. Semen Collection
  4. Insemination & Embryo Culture
  5. Embryo Transfer
  6. Luteal Support
22
Q

What does Superovulation mean?

What are some side effects of this?

A

ovary is stimulated to produce multiple follicles using FSH & LH

  • IVF drugs linked to ovarian cancer (but infertile women are predisposed to develop cancer)
  • ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome
23
Q

How is an ultrasound used in IVF?

Hint- used mainly in egg retrieving

A

Use transvaginal ultrasound to monitor follicular development
oocytes are then aspirated by ultrasound guided catheter

24
Q

Once an egg is fertilised in vitro (in IVF) it is allowed to mature up to…….

A

4-8 cell stage using maturation media

25
Q

What does Luteal support in IVF consist of?

A

administration of medication (particularly those that help maintain the Corus Luteum e.g. Progesterone)

26
Q

What is Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection?

A

modified IVF technique

sperm injected directly into oocyte so higher success rates

27
Q

When is Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection used?

A

If sperm is unable to fertilise due to abnormal morphology, motility or damaged acrosome

28
Q

What is Pre- implantation Genetic Diagnosis?

A

screens embryos for genetic disease e.g. sickle cell anaemia, cystic fibrosis

29
Q

What is the Method for Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis?

A
  1. Patient undergoes a routine IVF treatment & embryo matures to 8 cell stage
  2. A sharp pipette is used to break through the Zona Pellucida to suck up blastomere (known as Zona Drilling).
  3. Blastomere is broken down to get the genetic content & test for markers of genetic conditions.
30
Q

Why is Mitochondrial Donation performed before IVF in some cases?

A

defects in mitochondrial DNA affect how cells use energy

31
Q

How does Mitochondrial Donation work?

A
  1. Remove the nucleus from a harvested oocyte
  2. Remove and discard the nucleus from a donors oocyte (healthy mitochondria)
  3. Insert the patients nucleus into the donor oocyte
  4. Fertilise the oocyte with sperm (IVF or ICSI) and implant into patient
32
Q

What is gene editing?

A

form of genetic engineering, enables identification, removal and replacement of ‘faulty’ genes

33
Q

What is CRISPR-Cas9?

A

restriction enzyme complex used in gene editing to edit human germ line

34
Q

How does CRISPR-Cas9?

A
  1. Disable/ insert DNA into an embryo
  2. CRISPR RNA sequence is generated to reflect the sequence of a target gene using Cas9 as the restriction enzyme
  3. The CRISPR-Cas9 complex is introduced to the embryo
  4. The target sequence is snipped out of cellular DNA and the synthetic DNA can be introduced.
35
Q

How can CRISPR-Cas9 be applied to agriculture/ farming?

A
Aqua Advantage Salmon- twice growth rate & consume less food
Muscle Mass (Cows)- embryos edited to double muscle mass
36
Q

How can gene editing be used in organ transplantation?

A

CRISPR-Cas9 can be used to remove disease (PERV- Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus) in pig kidneys and lungs

37
Q

What is the uses of Stem Cell Transplantation in Infertility treatments?

A

Can introduce Spermatogonial stem cells (SSC’s) into a host testis when host does not make his own sperm or testis

38
Q

What are the advantages of Stem Cell Transplantation in Infertility?

A
  • preserve endangered species
  • can be used to breed from an animal after its death
  • reintroduce fertility in cancer survivors
39
Q

How does Stem Cell Transplantation in relation to Infertility work?

A

[Spermatogonia stem cells divide asymmetrically- 1 cell enters spermatogenesis & 1 cell replaces the stem cell pool]

  1. Isolate the Spermatogonia using surface proteins
  2. Multiply these in cell culture
  3. Transplant the stem cells into the testis via the rete testis or vas efferentia.