therio lab

Not in horses!  Not in >60d cows!

• cervix (tone increased in diestrus and pregnancy), uterine body, bifurcation, horns (pregnancies implant at base), broad ligament (dorsal) to ovary.  
• Large follicles, ovulatory fossa.  Horses will always have follicles during breeding season.

• NEVER further than you can reach!
• Uterus for evidence of edema (heterogenous echotecture of wall) and content (preg, fluid, air, FB)
• ovary for CL, follicles (ALWAYS present during season)

early pregnancy diagnosis

• size: fetus, caruncles, uterine artery
• cervix (roll of quarters, turkey neck, see if repro tract is heavy, "fixed" after 70d), uterine horns (fluid-filled), ovaries (follicle and CL with papilla), fetus, caruncles (after 70d) and uterine artery
• not <60d in pregnancy
• "flip" the uterus to palpate properly.
• Look for increase in size, asymmetry, fluctuation and fetal membrane slip.

• Fetal membrane slip
• amnionic vesicle
• placentomes (cotyledons)
• fetus
• ONLY 4 positive signs of pregnancy

• fetus secretes cortisol
• dam responds with dilation of cervix and caudal repro tract and initiates contractions
• fetus enters birthing position, engages cervix
• Ferguson's reflex
• oxytocin
• uterine contractions

• 1: dilation of the cervix until rupture of allantois (water breaks)
• 2: delivery of fetus/fetuses
• 3: expulsion of the fetal membranes

• preserve life of dam
• preserve viability of fetus
• preserve future fertility of dam

• 2-3h of labor without progress
• normal progression is amnion, 15-20min, one foot, 15-20min, two feet, muzzle, head, shoulder, completion.  
• ENTIRE PROCESS <75min. 
• fetus viable for 8-10h after stage II begins. (so CLEAN before you palpate)

relationship between long axis of fetus and maternal birth canal (longitudinal anterior/posterior vs transverse dorsal/ventral)

• surface of maternal birth canal to which fetal spine is applied. 
• can be dorso-sacral, dorso-pubic or dorso-ilial

• disposition of the head and limbs of the fetus (relative to normal birthing posture)
• abnormal flexion of a joint, etc. 
• Bilateral hock flexion, lateral deviation of head and neck, etc.

obstetrical chains

wire handles

chain handles

wire introducer

head snare

krey-Schottler hook

eye hooks

retropulsion crutch

fetotome

detorsion rod

• be clean
• be gentle
• use LOTS of lube

pushing fetus back into uterus to make room for obstetrical manipulation

correction of maldisposition of the fetus

• most proximal
• in cattle and horses, maybe camelids, forelimbs MUST be fully extended.  Sm ruminants maybe, canines, felines and porcine don't really matter much

posterior

• obstruction: physical correction.
• lack of productive uterine contractions: medical correction

• inadequate size of maternal pelvis: C-section. Splitting pelvis possible in heifers
• incomplete dilation of soft tissue of caudal repro tract: C-section or time +/- Ca
• Fetal maldisposition: incorrect PPP.  Anterior or posterior both fine, though posterior more likely to cause dystocia. 
• Uterine torsion

• most common in this species. Occurs in mares and camelids pre-term with colic signs
• usu dx at term. Dorso-pubic positioned calf always has torsion (not in mare). 
• usu singleton large calf. Unable to engage birth canal so cervix may not be dilated.
• Often after correction, calf still has lateral deviation of head and neck
• corrected by manual rotation, detorsion rod, scheffer method (plank in the flank), or C-section

• correct both hind limbs to hock flexion before correcting hock flexion to extension
• breech can cause dystocia in any species except SA and pig

• rotate calf so that sternum and hips both come out d/v
• birth canal breaks twice, so calf goes up, down, up.  Pull dorsally. 
• Angle of pelvis better if cow allowed to lie down.

• vagina of mare is sensitive, traumatized by repeated entry. Use amnion between arm and vagina to reduce friction, also during delivery.
• uterine contractions are extremely powerful.  May require GA and controlled vaginal delivery. 
• neck and limbs of fetus are very long.  C-section is risky and expensive. Fetotomies are important.

• puppies are fragile!  
• Premature have low survival rates, so KNOW the DUE DATE
• angle of vagina is acute, pull downward

• full bladder interferes
• downwards bend of uterus in large litters, causing unproductive contractions
• needle teeth of piglets make holding the face complicated

• neck of cria is extremely long and complicated to correct
• cervix is muscular and can be manually dilated

• both testes in scrotum at birth, if not, by 6mo.  
• Puberty at 9mo

• ruminants: scrotal circumference
• stallion: total scrotal width (scrotal calipers) and/or ultrasound

• dog: prostate, ampulla (?)
• tom: prostate, bulbourethral glands
• stallion, bull: prostate, ampulla, vesicular glands, bulbourethral glands
• boar: prostate, vesicular glands, bulbourethral glands

• all but dog have bulbourethral
• all have prostate
• boar has all but ampulla

AV or electroejaculator.  Need training for AV

• AV
• teaser mare is best

• AV
• teaser bitch is best

• semen color and volume
• motility analysis: total MOTILE sperm (% that are moving) and progressive motility (% moving forward). 
• In ruminants, look at gross motility
• semen concentration: densimeter, nucleo-cell counter or hemocytometer. Need volume and concentration. 
• sperm morphology: eosin nigrosine stain, count morphological defects.

• boar, stallion and dog. (these also have the most volume)
• Cat, camelid, bull and ram don't.

• 5d sexual rest.  If >10 you may want a second ejaculation. 
• 62d spermatogenic cycle
• digital manipulation
• director cone (latex AV, more contamination) vs collection tube (may lose sperm-rich fraction and damage tip of glans penis
• More responsive with a teaser (can use frozen-thawed vaginal swabs from estrus bitch on perineal area). Can give PGF2alpha, can't give testosterone
• clean, grasp first first finger and thumb behind bulbus glandis (tie), pulse bulbus with other three fingers. Retract prepuce once partially erect. Detumesce and replace before kenneling. 
• 1st fraction: presperm. during thrusting. Hard to separate from sperm-rich.  Clear to cloudy. Dog will stop thrusting and try to tie
• 2nd fraction: sperm rich. milky-white, homogenous, 1-4ml. Yellow = urine or pus, red or brown = blood (trauma or dz)
• 3rd fraction: prostatic portion. Clear. 
• pH: 6.5-7.0
• motility: ASAP, drop on slide. Low light. Total motility, progressive and speed. 
• Normally >70% motile, >80% progressive and >80% "fast"
• 2nd fraction for concentration. Should be >300million. morphology 
• >80% normal, 200 million total

• satisfactory, questionable, unsatisfactory
• No strict cut-off limits. Needs 1x10^9 or more progressively normal, morphologically normal sperm in SECOND of 2 ejaculates collected 1 hr apart after 1 week of sexual rest.

• ovary: 1-3cm caudal to each kidney, completely surrounded by ovarian bursa and fat deposits
• uterus: long and ventrally curved horns, corkscrew in diestrus, thickened/edematous in estrus
• cervix: may protrude into vagina, hangs dorsally. 
• vagina: bottle-shaped, very long. Deep fornix with thick dorsal fold (pseudocervix). 
• external urethral orifice: at vestibulovaginal junction
• vestibule: 5-6cm
• vulva and clitoris: labia are thick. Aim swab vertically and dorsally to avoid clitoral fossa.

• period when capability of reproduction is attained (first proestrus at 6-10mo in bitch)
• split heat - normal vaginal d/c for 5-7d, then disappear, then back 1-2wks later. NOT FOLLOWED BY OVULATION

• ~10d
• serosanguineus d/c
• pheromonal secretions to attract male but not allow mounting
• edematous vulva and vaginal stroma
• vulva winks when touched
• "Flag" tail when perivulvar skin touched

• ~7d
• starts on LH surge day or after. 
• vulva enlarged but softer
• d/c more straw-colored
• teasing males, males attracted, actively seeks males. 
• urine marking
• flagging, lordosis, vulva points upward
• characterized by acceptance of male

• ~2mo whether pregnant or pseudopregnant (can be up to 3mo).  
• 3d before end of behavioral estrus
• higher P4 from CL

• ~4mo
• quiescent time, doesn't attract males. vulva small with minimal d/c.

Estrogen high in proestrus, drops towards end as P4 starts to rise. When both are low-ish is LH surge.

• vaginoscope
• cotton swab into dorsal vestibule or caudal vagina. 
• Dorsocranial and rolled over dorsal mucosa in one direction to collect cells. 
• roll on microscope 3 or 4 times. Air dry
• Diff-Quik
• Basal cells: non-cornified, small and round, rarely seen. 
• Parabasal cells: non-cornified, round to oval with normal-appearing nucleus (largest nucleus: cytoplasm ratio)
• Intermediate cells: non-cornified? Smaller more prominent nuclei
• Superficial cells: large epithelial cells. Borders are irregular or angulated. Dark, pyknotic nucleus (or even not distinguishable). cytoplasm has more straight sides. 
• Anucleate cells: no nucleus, more square.
• proestrus: Erythrocytes and mix of epithelial types. May be neutrophils and bacteria. Late proestrus has more superficial and large intermediate. Thin epithelial lining
• Estrus: no neutrophils, few erythrocytes. >90% superficial cells. Background clear, no bacteria or debris, lots of clumping cells. Thickened vaginal epithelium with no inflammatory cells
• diestrus: abrupt drop of 20-50% is cytological diestrus. Parabasal, neutrophils. Can't tell from proestrus. 
• anestrus: parabasal and intermediate.  Hard to tell from diestrus and proestrus.

30 mins

piglet/20-30mins. Placenta afterwards

20 mins, but if actually trying help after 6-8 mins!

• 4-36h from water breaking to first puppy
• puppy/30 mins but can be longer if not straining

Can stop, just leave them alone!  If you bring them in, you WILL get a C-section