paper no. : 09 animal cell biotechnology module :18
TRANSCRIPT
Biotechnology
Animal Cell biotechnology
Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
Paper No. : 09 Animal Cell Biotechnology
Module :18 Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
Principal Investigator: Dr Vibha Dhawan, Distinguished Fellow and Sr. Director
The Energy and Resouurces Institute (TERI), New Delhi
Paper Coordinator: Dr. Minakshi, Professor & Head, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Hisar
Content Writer: Dr. Hari Mohan, Assistant Professor, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak
Paper Reviewer: Dr. Minakshi, Professor & Head, LalaLajpatRai University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Hisar
Co-Principal Investigator: Prof S K Jain, Professor, of Medical Biochemistry
JamiaHamdard University, New Delhi
Biotechnology
Animal Cell biotechnology
Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
Description of Module
Subject Name Biotechnology
Paper Name Animal Cell Biotechnology
Module Name/Title Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
Module Id 18
Pre-requisites Basic knowledge of female reproductive tract anatomy and physiology
Objectives 1. To understand the importance of pregnancy diagnosis in Animals
2. To know the events happening during pregnancy
3. Methods of pregnancy diagnosis
4. Future prospects of pregnancy diagnosis
Keywords Pregnancy diagnosis (PD), Corpus luteum, implantation, biomarkers, progesterone,
estrogen, ultrasonography
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Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
Table of Content:
1.) Introduction
2 Events during pregnancy
3.) Methods of Pregnancy detection
3.1) By visualisation or external appearance
3.1.1) Visual confirmation
3.1.2) Condition of Vulva
3.1.3) Other Signs
3.2) Examination by per-rectal palpation of the reproductive tract
3.3) Examination by ultrasonography and radiology
3.4) Biological fluid like Milk and Blood based testing
3.4.1) Progestrone
3.4.2) Estrone sulphate
3.4.3) Pregnancy associated glycoproteins (PAG)
3.4.4) Equine chorionic gonadotropin
3.4.5) Early Conception Factor (ECF)
3.4.6) Interferon Tau (IFN-τ) and genes stimulated by IFN-τ
3.4.7) Relaxin
3.4.8) PCR based assay
4) Pregnancy diagnosis in small animals
5) Summary: The Challenges and future for Early Pregnancy Diagnosis
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Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
1. Introduction:
Diagnosis of pregnancy, more desirably as earliest as possible, is essential need to increase
profitability in animal husbandry and veterinary related economy. It is always desirable by a
farmer or the herd manger to identify animal which is pregnant as soon as possible so that he
can manage both open (non-pregnant) and pregnant animal judicially to maximise profit from
its animals. For dairy farm, it is essential to get animal pregnant just after involution period,
i.e., 30-50 day of calf birth, to get maximum potential milk output from farm. There is
potential loss of Rs 4000-8000 per animal if we loses one estrous cycle (18-21 days) time in
conceiving the cow/ buffaloes in from potential loss of milk yield (If consider cattle give 8-10
L milk/day and sold @25-40rs/L) for same period, and also same amount of delay in getting
new calf. Thus, detection of the open animals at earliest possible, preferably before the onset
of next estrus (before day 21 post-insemination) and re-breeding of those animals can
significantly increase profitability from dairy farming. Similarly, in animal related with meat
production, getting new crop/ child from concerned species as earliest interval as possible
will lead more meat production by increasing the number of animal in farms, thus more
profitability to farm owner. Early pregnancy diagnosis is used to know which animal is non-
pregnant as soon as possible so that animal can re-bred to achieve pregnancy as earliest as
possible. In the same way, for pet owner like dog and cat, early pregnancy diagnosis will help
to avoid unwanted pregnancy from stray animals and also in better pre-parturition care. In
advance confirmation of pregnancy is desirable to understand progression of pregnancy so
that animal owner can take necessary action for welfare of animals. Apart from this,
diagnosis of pregnancy and its progression have following other benefits:
Timely culling of open cows (non-productive) to reduces the cost of feeding and
managing such cattle.
Aid in the culling decision for cows with other issues
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Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
Breeding management- Grouping cows for feeding, calving, calving watches, other
management based on their stage of pregnancy at pregnancy diagnosis.
Preparing in advance for calving when term is near.
Avoiding complication during pregnancy by regular examination, by examining the
progression of pregnancy
Therefore, pregnancy diagnosis would help to evaluate the therapies at an early date and
devise alternative manipulations as per requirement to increase the potential output from
animals. Thus, pregnancy diagnosis is a widely practiced procedure to increase the
profitability of farm and has come to be accepted as a highly recommended management
technique in animal husbandry.
2. Events during pregnancy:
To understand the methods of pregnancy diagnosis at different phases of gestation,
understanding of events of pregnancy is prerequisite, more importantly those events which
are used or exploited to diagnose the pregnancy. So, here we will discuss first those events
which are used or explored at different time interval to know the status of pregnancy in all
animals in general and in cattle particularly.
The pregnancy starts with fertilization of ovum by sperm to form zygote in uterine tract. The
event of ovum release happens under influence of estrogen hormone and then after pregnancy
is maintained under influence of progesterone hormone. Progesterone is produced by corpus
luteum (CL) of ovary in most of species and in some species later on by placenta. Any
decrease of progesterone level during gestation period will lead to termination of pregnancy,
a higher level of progesterone is pre-requisite to carry pregnancy.The developing embryo
enters the uterus between day 2 and 5 after ovulation (depending on the species) and secrete
various chemicals which helps the mother to recognise success of pregnancy. This process is
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Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
called as maternal recognition of pregnancy and occurs between 12-17days after ovulation in
species like sow, cattle, ewe and goat. Signals in form of pituitary luteotrophin (LH),
Pregnancy-Associated Glycoprotein (PAG), interferon Tau (IFN-τ) and genes stimulated by
IFN-τ viz. ubiquitin- 68 like modifier (ISG15) or ubiquitin cross-reactive protein (UCRP), 2',
5'-oligoadenylate synthetase 1 (OAS1) and myxovirus resistance genes (MX1 and MX2) are
secreted by developing embryo to prevent lysis of CL by inhibiting release of PGF2 alpha so
that progesterone concentration remains high and to provide environment from mother for
nourishment and safety. This leads to cessation of estrum. The fertilised zygote further
continues to divide and attach to mother uterine tract, by forming placentome. This
attachment starts in the sow at about 11-20 days, in the ewe about 16-20 days, in the cow
about 30-35 days, and in the mare about 50-60 days. During this period development of
placenta start and depending upon type of species the type of placenta differs. The embryo
continues to develop and organogenesis starts. The development of organ and size of embryo
progresses with a fix pattern which can be recognised with the help of ultrasound. By using
Ultrasound the heart beat can be detected at 16th day in sow and 22nd day in cow at the
earliest. The position of embryo also varies within uterus and thus in cattle, will also help to
know the status of pregnancy.
Apart from these changes during pregnancy mother also changes its physical appearance, like
enlargement of abdomen size, fat deposition, mammary gland development and search of
isolation at end of term are key changes which is typical in all species during advance
pregnancy. Success of a useful pregnancy diagnosis method depends on how early and
accurately it can diagnose the pregnancy in animal and differentially diagnose with
conditions like pyometra, tumors, mummification of foetus, metritis and fetal maceration etc.
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Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
3. Methods of Pregnancy detection:
Foetus is the only positive sign of pregnancy, so detecting signals exclusively produced by
foetus is the best way to confirm the pregnancy.The pregnancy diagnosis methods can be
divided in four major heads as per methodology involved:
1. By visualisation or external appearance
2. Examination by rectal palpation of the reproductive tract
3. Examination by trans-rectal real-time, linear array ultrasonography
4. Biological fluid like Milk and Blood based testing
3.1) By visualisation or external appearance
3.1.1) Visual confirmation: Non-return of oestrus is indirect method to confirm the
pregnancy. Observation of estrous in next cycle is one indication of non-pregnancy.
Generally, animal shows sign of estrous during normal estrous cycle when they did-not
conceived. Non-return of estrus is one sign of pregnancy but is generally misleading as
sometime herd-man can miss sign of estrous in animal or sign itself is weak (Silent heat
condition). Installation of CCTV and Pedometer in organised herd can minimise such misses,
but there are also disease condition like anoestrus either pathogenic or normal in which also
animal does not show sign of estrous. Similarly many animals particularly cows with history
of cystic ovaries shows estrous sign even though they are conceived. The condition further
aggravates due to silent heat symptom in buffaloes leading to increase in open period in these
animals.
3.1.2) Condition of Vulva: In pregnant animals, vulva becomes anaemic and wrinkled;
where as in non-pregnant animal it is hyperaemic, smooth and edematous.
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Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
3.1.3) Other Signs: The size of abdomen will increase in animal under advance pregnancy,
but is not a reliable indicator in cattle. Multiparous animals can show it more reliably.
Movement of foetus in 10% of pregnant animals can be seen in abdominal area after 6 month
while become apparent in 80% cases after 8 months.
In heifers of first conception, the mammary gland size increases after 4-5months of
pregnancy in cattle. Apart from these, following signs can be seen in animals in advanced
pregnancy:
1. Tendency to fatten.
2. Gradual drop in milk yield
3. Gradual increase in weight.
4. Drooping quarters.
5. Increase in size of udder.
6. Waxy-appearance of teats in last month of pregnancy.
All these signs lack accuracy and often misleading as these signs are also present in other
cases also. Further these signs appear only in advance stage of pregnancy. So, there is need to
confirm early stage of pregnancy by using more sensitive methods.
3.2) Examination by per-rectal palpation of the reproductive tract
Rectal palpation of uterus, horn, ovaries and uterine vessel is most commonly used method in
pregnancy diagnosis of cattle, buffaloes and horse currently. By this method pregnancy can
be diagnosed as early as 35 days and more accurately at 45-55 days of gestation in cattle.
However, this method can lead abortion in upto 10% of pregnant animals when applied
before or at 35-41 days of gestation. Further, if proper precaution is not taken, it may lead to
a damage of mucosa layer and rectum wall of the animal causing infection and other
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complications. Also, these techniques required specialised veterinarian to do pregnancy
diagnosis as earliest.
When hand is inserted in rectum with all precautions, we can hold the whole uterine tract of
female in large animal by hand to study status of tonicity of uterus, gravidity or enlargement
of horns, which happen due to fluid accumulation after implantation, confirm presence or
absent of corpus-luteum, and to feel the foetus in later stage of gestation. Generally, during
the early diagnosis uterine tract is slightly tonic in nature. Signs of pregnancy observed
during rectal palpation are enlargement of uterine horn with placental fluid (can be seen from
32-90 days), slipping of foetal membrane where the horn is handed properly followed by
gentle pinching leads to feeling of two membranes slipping first alllanto-chorion followed by
uterine wall of horn. Palpation of placentome can be done from 60–70 days onwards and
these placentomes are generally located in the middle of the horn or near the attachment of
middle uterine. From 80 days onward palpation of uterine artery will give a feeling of
pulsation flow of blood with whirr-sound or we can feel some high amount of liquid is
flowing through vessel. However, this technique can be confused with other disease condition
like persistence CL which can occur in anestrum condition. Similarly, large horn can be seen
in some infectious conditions like pyometra or mucometra. However, the technique of
slipping membrane is very useful to differentiate these fluid filled infections from pregnancy.
3.3) Examination by ultrasonography and radiology:
Examination of pregnancy by ultrasonography is safer than per-rectal examination but, it is
more costly and need specialised veterinarian for performing the test. Further, one of the clear
pitfalls when using real-time ultrasound, involves improper timing for diagnosis as one
potential cycle of oestrus is already lost if, animal is open this is because PD by USG
generally done after 25day in animals.
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Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
Real-time, B-mode ultrasonography can detect pregnancy earlier than transrectal palpation in
cattle and buffaloes and useful in those animals (dog, cat, pig, rabbit etc.) where we cannot go
for per- rectal examination.Technique is more accurate in assessment of ovarian structures,
diagnosis of twins, and most importantly it also allows for monitoring of foetal viability by
detection of foetal heartbeat. False positives are rare in this method. Apart from assessing the
foetal viability, its numbers and age of foetus, real time ultrasonography can also be helpful
in diagnosing disease of reproductive tract.
Real-time B-mode (brightness mode) ultrasonography displays a 2-dimensional image in gray
scale. The image is composed of dots that vary from white to light gray for very dense tissues
such as the uterus and skin, and from dark gray to black, for fluids and less dense tissues. For
pregnancy diagnosis, decisions are based on the appearance of fluid vesicles (black) within
the surrounding uterine tissue. Ultrasonography is performed trans-rectal in larger animals
like cow and buffaloes while in smaller animals like dog, cat, sow etc. is performed by trans-
abdominal positioning. Ultrasound result quality depended upon transducers type which
generate ultrasonic wave due to piezoelectric crystal in them. Ultrasonic wave type is
characterized by the distance it travels (wavelength), and the number of times the wave
repeats within a second (frequency). Generally 3.5 to 5.0 MHz frequency range is frequently
used for routine pregnancy diagnosis. The size of the crystalin USG determines the wave,
larger crystals, such as the 3.5 MHz, produces the longer the wavelength and the lower the
frequency. They can penetrate deep into the soft tissues of the animal but provide lower
image resolution (ability to distinguish between different structures). In contrast, the smaller
crystals of the 5.0-7.5 MHz transducers produce signals that travel shorter distances, but
produce higher image resolution, since fewer waves are lost.
Trans-rectal ultrasonography is an accurate method for the diagnosis of pregnancy in cattle
and buffaloes. It is also used in sheep and doe (female goat). Here the probes of ultrasound is
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Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
inserted trans-rectaly as done in trans-rectal palpation method. The probe is guided over
ovary and other reproductive structure with help of hand. This method can detect pregnancy
as early as day 26 post-breeding. During examination, if a discrete, intrauterine, sharply
demarcated anechoic, round or oval structure which is basically a fluid- filled allantoic cavity
will be detected in uterine lumen or if an apparent conceptus (anechoic, elongated structure)
or embryo proper were detected in the uterine lumen these indicate pregnancy. Post 25 days
we can see heart-beat of foetus also. Similarly in sheep and doe at day 21 to 42 it is possible
to diagnose the pregnancy by trans-rectal ultrasonography. In equines, ultrasound analysis of
pregnancy can be performed as early as 12 to 18 days after ovulation. This is beneficial for
the identification and management of twins, scheduling of rebreeding in open mares, and
early detection of problems associated with pregnancy. However final confirmation of
pregnancy can be done only after a follow-up examination between 25 and 35 days of
pregnancy.
3.4) Biological fluid like Milk and Blood based testing
Recent advancements in the field of cellular and molecular basis of early pregnancy have
paved the way for development of more specific and sensitive methods of early pregnancy
diagnosis. These techniques does not need highly qualified person to perform and can
indicate the pregnancy before onset of new estrous cycle time. More-over it doesn’t require
per-rectal examination, operation of which has its own drawback. This help farmer to
inseminate the animal which is open in just next cycle without missing any cycle, or take
corrective measure regarding any reproductive disorder if persist, so that no further loss of
estrous cycle to conceive the animals. These techniques are based on either ELISA (enzyme
linked immune sorbent assay) or PCR based. In ELISA, an antibody is raised against targeted
molecule which will be linked to enzyme. If that particular molecule is present in biological
fluid, it will bind with antibody and colour will develop due to conversion of substrate. The
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Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
development of colour and its intensity indicates the presence of molecule and its quantity in
biological fluid for which test have developed. The same principal with slight modification is
applied for lateral flow development. In humans, such lateral flow based kits are available
commercially for diagnosis of pregnancy. These kits are based on detection of human
chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (hormone produced by the placenta after implantation) in
urine. This hormone is not secreted by animals. In PCR based assays, generally blood
leucocytes are used to study of expression of such molecules which are expressed early
during maternal recognition of pregnancy. We will discuss more about such compounds
which are used or have potential to be used as early pregnancy diagnosis molecules.
3.4.1) Progestrone: Progesterone is a hormone produced by the corpus luteum (CL) and is
required for maintenance of pregnancy. This CL is maintained after pregnancy under
the influence of interferon-τ produced by the embryo. This lead to maintain level of
progesterone in blood after 16 days post conception, otherwise level of progesterone
start to decrease and become minimum level at day 21 post coitus. The concentration
of progesterone can be measured in milk or blood (serum/ plasma) by ELISA kit
commercially available. Milk is a better choice as it is easy to collect it. But
progesterone based early pregnancy diagnosis lacks accuracy due to false positive
result occur mainly in the conditions where CL persist for longer due to disease
condition like anestrum (Breed et al., 2009). Further, it is good for large farm as it
needs lab facility equipped with instruments such as ELISA reader & washer.
3.4.2) Estrone sulphate: It is a conjugated estrogen that is produced specifically by the
conceptus and it has been used to diagnose pregnancy using milk samples in cattle
(Heap and Hamon, 1979). Thus, it directly confirms the pregnancy. In cows, equine
and buffaloes its concentrations increase from day 60 and plateau around day 150
after insemination, and during this time it is good indicator of pregnancy. This can be
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Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
detected by ELISA and some reports have suggested that it can also be performed by
using urine sample.
3.4.3) Pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAG): Bovine pregnancy-associated
glycoproteins (PAG) were discovered through attempts to develop indirect early
pregnancy tests in dairy cattle (Xie et al., 1997). In 1982, two proteins, pregnancy-
specific protein (PSP) A and B, were isolated from bovine fetal membrane extracts
(Butler et al., 1982; Gajewski et al., 2008). Whereas PSPA was identified as α-
fetoprotein, PSPB was found to be specific to placenta (Butler et al., 1982).
Development of a specific RIA for PSPB (Sasser et al., 1986) allowed for
quantification of PSPB in maternal serum as an indirect method for pregnancy
diagnosis and embryonic mortality in dairy cattle (Humblot et al., 1988a, b). PAG,
can be used to detect pregnancy on days 25 to 30 (Silva et al., 2009; Szenci et al.,
1998; Sousa et al., 2006), however, due to its long half life, PAG is present in the
body fluids even after calving (till day 90 post- calving), thus, leading to false-
positive results in cattle bred around day 60 post-calving.
3.4.4) Equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG): eCG is produced from groups of
specialized placental cells called endometrial cups and is only present in pregnant
mares from approximately 35 to 120 days of gestation. So, it is used as confirmatory
test either by ELISA or lateral flow methods. However it also gives false positive
result if blood sample is collected from a mare that lost her pregnancy after
development of endometrial cup. Similarly, false negative results will appear if assay
is performed prior to day 35 or after day 120 of pregnancy. But, this is better
technique as it does not need expert veterinarian which is needed to perform
ultrasound or per-rectal examination. But on other-side, it can be done only after day
35 post-coitus.
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Pregnancy Diagnosis in Animals
3.4.5) Early Conception Factor (ECF): Early pregnancy factor (EPF, also known as early
conception factor—ECF) is a protein, present in the sera of most mammalian species
including humans, mice, sheep, cows, buffaloes, pigs, mares and also in some wild
pregnant animals. They are, detectable within 6 to 24 hours of fertilization and can
continue upto up to two-thirds of the gestation. EPF remains the earliest serum
benchmark for positive fertilization and hence successful conception. This novel
pregnancy-specific protein has high immunosuppressive ability which is demonstrated
by rosette inhibition test, a bioassay first demonstrated in pregnant mice. However,
EPF bioassay is based on the inhibition of rosette formation which is a time
consuming process with limited use in routine pregnancy testing (Smart et al., 1982).
Further, EPF is not just confined to pregnancy but is also detected in many types of
tumours.
3.4.6) Interferon Tau (IFN-τ) and genes stimulated by IFN-τ: Interferon Tau (IFN-τ) and
genes stimulated by IFN-τ viz. ubiquitin- like modifier (ISG15) or ubiquitin cross-
reactive protein (UCRP), 2', 5'-oligoadenylate synthetase 1 (OAS1) and myxovirus
resistance genes (MX1 and MX2) are found to be associated with maternal
recognition of pregnancy in sheep, buffaloes and cattle. These factors are present in
serum of cattle and buffalo at days 15-17 post-breeding. Assay of these proteins, more
importantly of MX2 had shown better potential for early diagnosis of pregnancy in
heifer at least. But no commercial kit related to them is available in the market till
now.
3.4.7) Relaxin: Dog need special mention as bitches do not produce a pregnancy-specific
hormone similar to human chorionic gonadotropin. In addition, progesterone is not a
useful indicator of pregnancy because all bitches secrete progesterone for two months
after heat, regardless of whether they were pregnant or not. Relaxin assay by lateral
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flow or ELISA is specific for dog pregnancy diagnosis. It is performed by using blood
sample and is useful for pregnancy detection 25 days post gestation. However, this
test is slightly late as by abdominal ultrasonography we can detect it earlier. Further
false negatives can occur also as sperm survive in bitch uterus for 6-7days while false
positive occur in early abortion cases. Further the test does not evaluate foetus
viability or give litter size.
3.4.8) PCR based assay: Apart from ELISA based assay PCR based assay can also used
more in organised farm. Semi quantitative PCR or real-time PCR can be performed
for gene which are upregulated and expressed in blood during early pregnancy (Paré
et al., 2008). Those genes like interferon Tau (IFN-τ) and genes stimulated by IFN-τ
viz. ubiquitin- like modifier (ISG15) or ubiquitin cross-reactive protein (UCRP), 2',
5'-oligoadenylate synthetase 1 (OAS1) and myxovirus resistance genes (MX1 and
MX2), PAG are also expressed in blood and its m-RNA expression can be used to run
semi quantitative PCR with reference to standard non-pregnant animal will confirm
early diagnosis of pregnancy from day 14 onward.
4) Pregnancy diagnosis in small animals:
For pregnancy diagnosing in sow, and other small animals including goat and sheep trans-
abdominal palpation is done. In these animals the surface of the transducer is lubricated and
applied to contact the abdomen just lateral to nipple line and ahead of the rear leg. PD in sow
is more accurate by this method when performed between 24 and 35 days following breeding,
because of the timing and amount of fluid accumulation, combined with the timing of foetal
bone formation and calcification, resolution and prognosis is very high. The accuracy of the
equipment is >90% for identifying pregnant females in this period with an average time to
make a diagnosis between at less than 10 seconds per sow. Optimal diagnosis is based on
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fluid accumulation, which begins at day 18 but remains low until about day 24. Thereafter,
between days 24 to 35, fluid volume peaks in early pregnancy.
In bitch, best time to palpatate the feto-placental units is between 25 and 30 days gestation
however palpation technique lacks sensitivity and specificity. Before this, they are not clearly
palpable and afterwards the placental units lose their individual spherical shape. Bitch after
proper restraining is positioned in dorsal recumbent orientation before subjected to
ultrasound. Optimally, a full bladder prior to the examination serves as a useful landmark and
may facilitate examination of structures distal to the bladder. The normal uterus is best
located by scanning transversely between the urinary bladder and the colon. The cervix and
uterine body are seen as a continuous hypoechoic round structure dorsal to the anechoic
urinary bladder and ventral to hyperechoic, crescent shaped colon. The fetous heartbeat (@
>180-200/minute) is regularly seen even without doppler after 25-28 days gestation. At 30-32
days of pregnancy, the vesicle is larger than transverse small bowel, making differentiation
easy. Further at same time counting the number of vesicles (of foetuses) is very easy as they
are small enough to allow easy counting within each uterine horn. Later on (>45-50 days),
due to overlap of large intestine with the uterine horns correct count of growing fetus
becomes difficult.
Radiology is a good technique for determining/confirming the number of foetuses near term.
In large animals, it is not practised because of restraining issue in advance pregnancy, and
equipment cost. However in dog and cat it is practiced but its scope become limited after
ultrasonography uses. Once bone development or hard tissue development started it can be
used. However they cannot confirm for early diagnosis of foetal death but permits evaluation
of bitch's pelvic anatomy.
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5. Summary: The Challenges and future for Early Pregnancy Diagnosis
Although several direct and indirect methods for early pregnancy diagnosis are available for
animals, none of these methods fulfill all of the attributes of the ideal early pregnancy test.
Moreover there is need to develop test which can indicate pregnancy before onset of next
estrous cycle and can be performed at farm level itself. Combination of two or more assays
hold potential for early pregnancy diagnosis. For example a test combining progesterone and
MRP protein can be a potential solution for such cases in dairy animals. Further identification
of molecule exclusively expressed in early pregnancy by application of omics technique is
the need of hour in dairy and meat based animal. In the time of globalization, the farmers
have the tough and daunting task of feeding the growing world population and for this we
need more production of animal products. Due to this reason we cannot afford to keep animal
open which will lead to economic loss of farmers on one hand and cause potential production
loss other hand. Exploring of new proteins like proteins as anti-testosterone antibody light
chain, apolipoprotein A-II precursor, serum amyloid A, cytokeratin type II, component IV
isoform 1, which are have established roles in embryogenesis and further confirming of
already established protein in biological fluids more preferably in saliva and urine to develop
lateral flow based ELISA kit to detect pregnancy before onset of new cycle is need of hour
and future work can be toward these area.