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Topic:Uterine Health
Uterine health in horses pertains to the condition and functionality of the uterus, an essential component of the mare's reproductive system. The uterus is responsible for supporting the development of the embryo and fetus during gestation. Various factors, such as infections, inflammation, and anatomical abnormalities, can impact uterine health, potentially affecting fertility and reproductive performance. Common conditions affecting the equine uterus include endometritis, pyometra, and uterine cysts. Assessment of uterine health often involves diagnostic tools like ultrasonography, endometrial biopsies, and cytological evaluations. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the anatomy, pathology, diagnostic techniques, and treatment options related to uterine health in horses.
Nonsurgical treatment of uterine torsion in seven mares. Nonsurgical correction of uterine torsion was performed in 7 mares, and 6 foals were subsequently born alive. Uterine rupture necessitated euthanasia in 1 mare. Correction was achieved by rolling of the mares after general anesthesia had been induced. Previously, this technique was believed to be associated with a high prevalence of fetal and maternal mortality. Nonsurgical correction may be a satisfactory alternative to abdominal surgery in treating uterine torsion in mares.
Hydramnios causing uterine rupture in a mare. An 18-year-old mare, 285 days pregnant, was evaluated for apparent abdominal pain of 8 hours' duration. A large volume of sanguinous fluid was obtained on abdominocentesis, and digital vaginal examination revealed a dilated cervix and blood in the uterus. Abdominal palpation per rectum revealed the uterus to be large and distended with fluid. Ultrasonography revealed a dead fetus on the floor of the cranial portion of the abdomen. The mare was euthanatized, and necropsy confirmed that the uterus had ruptured, and that the fetus, within its chorioallantois, was in the abdomen. The amniotic sac ...
Factors affecting the composition of mare uterine fluid. The influx of protein and polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN) into the uterine lumen was examined at different intervals after intrauterine infusion of fluids. The intrauterine infusion of both phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and a solution of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) derived from Escherichia coli resulted in a biphasic influx of protein in the uterine flushings peaking three and six hours after infusion. LPS infusion caused an additional influx of protein at 24 hours. The initial influx of protein preceded a biphasic influx of PMN which peaked six and 24 hours after both infusions. Uterine flu...
Clinical significance of aerobic bacterial flora of the uterus, vagina, vestibule, and clitoral fossa of clinically normal mares. Swab specimens for bacterial culture were obtained from the uterus, vagina, vestibule, and clitoral fossa of 48 mares that had normal reproductive tracts, no history of reproductive problems, and no inflammation on evaluation of endometrial biopsy. The mares were predominantly Thoroughbred and Standardbred. Swab specimens of the vagina were obtained through a sterile speculum; swab specimens of the uterus were obtained by use of a double-guarded, occluded culture instrument. Fifteen (31%) of the uterine swab specimens and 20 (42%) of the vaginal swab specimens yielded growth on aerobic culture...
Concentrations of immunoreactive leukotriene B4 in uterine lavage fluid from mares with experimentally induced and naturally occurring endometritis. Acute endometritis was induced in ovariectomized pony mares by infusion of a 1% solution of oyster glycogen. Maximum concentrations of immunoreactive leukotriene B4 in uterine washings coincided with the greatest rate of infiltration of neutrophils into the uterine lumen. Concentrations of immunoreactive leukotriene B4 decreased to basal levels 6 h after infusion and were unaffected by administration of ovarian steroids to ovariectomized mares. Uterine washings from mares with persistent endometritis did not contain significantly different concentrations of leukotriene B4 from genitally normal...
Evaluation of the post-partum mare in relation to foal heat breeding. II. Uterine swabbing and biopsies. Fifty-three post-partum (p. p.) periods were studied in 38 mares. Uterine samples were taken on
the 2nd and 5th days p.p. and thereafter every other day until ovulation. Uterine swabs were
examined for bacteria and neutrophils and uterine biopsy specimens for neutrophils and lymphocytes.
The occurrence of bacteria and leukocytes was most common on day 5 p. p. The dominant organism
on day 2 was E. coli and on day 5 P-haemolytic streptococci. Thirty-four mares were inseminated
during the first p. p. oestrus. Only the occurrence of neutrophils in day 5 biopsy specimens correlated
with foal ...
Effect of exogenous ovarian steroids on the uterine luminal prostaglandins in ovariectomised mares with experimental endometritis. Prostaglandins (PGs) F and E2 were measured in lavage fluid from the uterus of ovariectomised mares after experimental induction of uterine inflammation. Treatment with progesterone alone, or progesterone followed by oestradiol, significantly increased the concentrations of these PGs in the lavage compared with mares treated with oestradiol or control mares. Ovarian steroids, therefore, influenced uterine PG synthesis in response to an inflammatory stimulus. To determine whether the uterine lavage procedure might contribute to the concentrations of prostaglandins in the lavage, the procedure w...
Ultrasonographic studies on the reproductive tract of mares after parturition: effect of involution and uterine fluid on pregnancy rates in mares with normal and delayed first postpartum ovulatory cycles. During breeding of mares, ultrasonographic detection of uterine fluid accumulations in the first postpartum ovulatory period was associated with significantly decreased pregnancy rates, when compared with rates in control mares (P less than 0.005). The previously gravid uterine horn was recognized as the larger horn, when assessed for size by ultrasonography, for a mean of 21 days (range, 15 to 25 days) after parturition. On the basis of similar measurements obtained during 3 ultrasonographic scans (5-day period), uterine involution was determined to be completed in a mean of 23 days (range, 1...
24-Hour cooled storage of equine embryos. Equine embryos were collected by transcervical uterine flush 7 d after ovulation. The flush solution was Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline (PBS) with 1% newborn calf serum and penicillin-streptomycin. Each embryo was washed in modified Dulbecco's PBS with 1% newborn calf serum and 0.4% bovine serum albumin, and placed in 4-ml polystyrene test tube containing this same medium. Embryos were packaged in a commercial semen transport container which cooled (-0.3 degrees C/min) and maintained the embryo at 4 to 6 degrees C. After 24 h, 16 embryos were transcervically transferred into recipient ma...
Uterine contractions in nonpregnant and early pregnant mares and jennies as determined by ultrasonography. Uterine contractions in 8 nonpregnant and 13 pregnant mares were studied using ultrasonography. A 1-min video tape recording was made of longitudinal real-time images of the uterine body. An overall uterine contractile activity score (0 = no or minimal activity to 4 = maximal activity) was assigned to each video tape segment. There was a day effect (P less than .01) and an interaction (P less than .01) of reproductive status X day. Uterine activity scores were highest on d 14 to d 18 (d 0 = day of ovulation) for nonpregnant mares and on d 10 to d 14 for pregnant mares. Uterine activity scores ...
Multiple recurring uterocervical leiomyomas in two half-sibling Appaloosa fillies. Two yearling, paternal half-sibling Appaloosa fillies were ovariohysterectomized for treatment of multiple uterocervical leiomyomas. The tumors recurred in both fillies, originating from cervical tissue that could not be removed at surgery. Previously reported cases of uterine leiomyoma in the mare have been of solitary tumors in older mares that were treated successfully by surgical removal.
Survival of equine embryos transferred to normal and subfertile mares. To test the hypothesis that an abnormal uterine environment was a cause of early embryonic loss in subfertile mares, morphologically normal embryos were transferred to normal mares (n = 20) and subfertile mares (n = 20), and embryo survival rates were compared. Embryos were recovered nonsurgically at Days 7 to 8 postovulation and transferred surgically to normal and subfertile mares that had ovulated on the same day or within 2 d after a donor. Survival of transferred embryos was monitored by ultrasonography of the recipient mare's uterus from Day 9 through Day 28 postovulation. There were no ...
Influence of administration of ovarian steroids on the function of neutrophils isolated from the blood and uterus of ovariectomized mares. The function of blood and uterine luminal neutrophils from ovariectomized mares treated with ovarian steroids was investigated 18 h after intrauterine infusion of 1 X 10(9) Streptococcus zooepidemicus. Random migration of blood neutrophils under agarose was reduced by treatment with progesterone compared with that of neutrophils from oestradiol-treated and control mares. In-vitro addition of progesterone to blood neutrophils from acyclic ponies also reduced migration. Uterine neutrophils did not migrate under agarose which was probably an effect of bacterial phagocytosis. Hormone treatment had...
Dynamics of the acute uterine response to infection, endotoxin infusion and physical manipulation of the reproductive tract in the mare. The uterine responses after the infusion of saline (PBS), a bacterial suspension, or lipopolysaccharide derived from Escherichia coli, and after stimulation of the reproductive tract were compared. All infusions provoked a response involving both serum proteins and leucocytes. Protein levels peaked within a few hours of infusion, whereas leucocyte concentration peaked later at around 6 h. Bacterial recovery from the uterus followed a similar pattern, with recovery falling dramatically by 12 h. In mares known to be susceptible to infection large numbers of bacteria were again recovered after 24...
[Endometrial cysts in the mare. 1. Post-mortem studies: occurrence and morphology]. During macroscopic post-mortem examinations of the genital tract in 104 mares endometrial cysts occurred in 14 (13%) cases. Whereas in mares up to the age of 10 years cystic changes were absent, endometrial cysts occurred in 19% of the animals above the age of 10 years. In 6 mares only 1-2 cysts per uterus were found, and in 8 animals there were between 5 and 18 cystic changes per organ. The cysts were equally distributed in the uterus body and horns. Sporadically occurring cysts were about 11 mm in diameter with a decreasing size to a mean value of 5 mm in multiple cysts. Predominantly in the...
Role of anaerobic bacteria in equine endometritis. This study, performed over 3 breeding seasons, surveyed anaerobic and aerobic bacterial isolates from 362 clitoral and endometrial swabs and uterine washes from 263 Thoroughbred maiden, foaling, foal heat and barren mares, and from 113 urethral, urethral fossa, preputial and pre-ejaculatory fluid swabs from 29 Thoroughbred stallions. The significance of isolates was determined by their association with acute endometritis, as determined by concurrent endometrial smear results and by consideration of age and reproductive status before and after the survey. The results suggest that the horse uter...
Factors affecting uterine clearance of inoculated materials in mares. Twelve acyclic mares of various ages (2-29 years) and parity (maiden-multiparous) were given oestradiol-17 beta i.m. (winter 1982) or progesterone i.m. (winter 1983) to induce changes in the endometrium consistent with oestrus and dioestrus, respectively. After hormone treatment, mares were inoculated intrauterine with 50 ml saline containing 5 X 10(5) Streptococcus zooepidemicus bacteria, 51Cr-labelled 15-micron microspheres, and 500 mg charcoal (Groups E + B and P + B) or microspheres and charcoal only (Groups EC and PC). At 5 h after inoculation uteri were flushed with 50 ml saline containi...
Effect of uterine inflammation and ultrasonically-detected uterine pathology on fertility in the mare. The incidence of intrauterine fluid collections during dioestrus (12/43, 28%) and uterine cysts throughout the oestrous cycle (11/73, 15%) found in this study indicates that these ultrasonically detectable abnormalities are prevalent in mares. The hypothesis that uterine cysts do not affect pregnancy was not supported. Intrauterine fluid collections at dioestrus represented the presence of an inflammatory process as indicated by a high biopsy score, reduced progesterone concentrations, and a shorter interovulatory interval. Mares with fluid collections at dioestrus had a lower pregnancy rate a...
Comparison of progesterone and progesterone + oestrogen on total and specific uterine proteins in pony mares. Eight ovariectomized pony mares were used to test the effect of various doses of progesterone (0, 50, 150, 450 mg/day, in oil, i.m., for 10 days) on progesterone and LH in the peripheral circulation, and on total protein and uteroferrin in uterine secretions. Progesterone increased uteroferrin, but there were no differences amongst doses of progesterone. Progesterone treatment decreased LH, and tended to increase total protein. Eighteen ovariectomized mares were given vehicle, oestradiol (10 mg/day, in oil, i.m.), progesterone or progesterone + oestradiol for 28 days. Both the last two steroid...
Hormonal changes associated with induced late abortions in the mare. Two mares received PGF-2 alpha twice daily until abortion and 2 mares received a combined treatment with oestradiol benzoate and oxytocin. The mares were about 150 days pregnant. The PG-treated animals aborted after 37 and 61 h, respectively, and the fetuses were expelled in intact fetal membranes. The other 2 mares aborted 13 and 27 h after the first oxytocin injection, respectively, and showed strong uterine contractions and expelled the fetuses in disrupted fetal membranes. Concentrations of 15-ketodihydro-PGF-2 alpha increased both after PG and oxytocin injections and in association with t...
Concentrations of uterine luminal prostaglandins in mares with acute and persistent endometritis. Intrauterine infusion of 1 per cent oyster glycogen solution was used to induce acute endometritis in four genitally normal mares. Numbers of viable neutrophils recovered in uterine washings had increased by 1 h after infusion and remained elevated for at least 72 h. There was a significant correlation between numbers of viable neutrophils and total protein concentrations and between prostaglandin (PG)F and PGE2 concentrations in washings. There was also a significant relationship between concentrations of 15-keto-13, 14-dihydro PGF2 alpha in plasma and PGF in washings. Intrauterine concentrat...
The functional competence of uterine-derived polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) from mares resistant and susceptible to chronic uterine infection: a sequential migration analysis. The functional competence of uterine-derived polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) from 28 mares was measured for migration responsiveness by use of a chamber (filter) assay. Uterine infection was induced with Streptococcus zooepidemicus in mares considered resistant to chronic uterine infection (Grade I). In sequential analysis of uterine flushings obtained from these mares 5, 12, 15, 20, and 25 h after infection was induced, PMNs showed an initial rise at 12 h (from 5), then a general decline in migration response and in concentration of cells per ml from 12 through 25 h post-inoculation. In ...
Recovery and evaluation of embryos from normal and infertile mares. To evaluate embryo transfer as a possible method to circumvent infertility in mares, embryos from 14 normal and 14 infertile mares were collected three times and examined. Fewer flushes (p less than 0.05) from normal than infertile mares (1/42 vs 9/42) contained only abnormal embryos whereas more flushes (p less than 0.05) from normal than infertile mares contained one or more normal embryos (28/42 vs 8/42). More flushes (p less than 0.05) from normal than infertile mares contained embryos (29/42 vs 17/42). The embryo diameters (mm) at either day-7 or day-8 post ovulation were greater (p less ...
Diseases of the abdomen. Because the abdomen of the adult horse is too thick to obtain good-quality radiographs, diagnostic ultrasound is a particularly valuable imaging modality in the diagnosis of abdominal disease. The size, shape, position, and texture of the liver, spleen, kidneys, urinary bladder, gravid uterus, and gut wall can be determined by scanning the abdominal surface. The presence or absence of abdominal fluid can be determined efficiently. Gut motility as well as ileus secondary to peritonitis or obstruction can be assessed. Suspected adhesions of the bowel can often be documented, and primary or secon...
