Equine, Camelid, Small Ruminant, and Porcine Theriogenology

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering equine, small ruminant, camelid, and porcine theriogenology, including reproductive anatomy, endocrinology, breeding soundness evaluation, pregnancy management, dystocia, and infectious causes of infertility and abortion.

Ovulation Fossa

The distinct ventral indentation on the mare's ovary where ovulation exclusively occurs, reflecting an inside-out ovarian architecture where the cortex is situated centrally and the medulla peripherally.

Windsucker Test

A clinical examination technique in which the mare's vulvar lips are gently parted; aspiration of air into the vestibule and vagina indicates compromised physical barriers to uterine infection.

Caslick’s Vulvoplasty

A surgical closure of the dorsal aspect of the vulvar labia indicated for mares with a tilted vulva, pneumovagina, pneumouterus, persistent infertility, or perineal trauma post-foaling.

Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM)

A venereal infection caused by the bacterium Taylorella equigenitalis, which colonizes the clitoral sinuses and fossa in carrier mares and produces purulent discharge and infertility.

Winking

An estrous behavior in the mare characterized by frequent eversion of the clitoris through the vulvar lips, typically accompanied by urination, tail raising, and posturing in the presence of a stallion.

Foal Heat

The first postpartum estrus in the mare, occurring between 7 and 14 days post-partum (average 9 to 10 days), with optimal fertility observed when the mare ovulates after Day 9.

Deslorelin

A GnRH agonist (administered as Sucromate or BioRelease) used to induce ovulation within $38 \times 10^0 \text{ hours} \text{ (}38 \text{ ± } 2\text{ hours)}$ in mares possessing a preovulatory follicle of $\ge 35\,\text{mm}$ with uterine edema.

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG)

A glycoprotein with LH-like activity administered at a dose of 1500 to 5000 IU IM or IV to induce ovulation within 24 to 48 hours ($36 \text{ ± } 17\,\text{hours}$) in mares with a follicle $\ge 35\,\text{mm}$.

HeatBlock Protocol

A protocol for long-term suppression of estrus involving administration of 60 IU of oxytocin twice daily on Days 7 to 14 post-ovulation, blocking luteolysis and maintaining the corpus luteum for over 40 days.

Ecbolic

A pharmacologic agent, such as oxytocin or prostaglandin $F_{2\alpha}$, that stimulates uterine smooth muscle contractions to clear fluid and debris from the uterine lumen.

Tocolytic

A pharmacologic agent, such as terbutaline, that inhibits uterine myometrial contractions and promotes uterine muscle relaxation.

Kenney Biopsy Grading System

An endometrial histologic grading scheme that predicts expected foaling rates: Grade I (80-90%), Grade IIa (50-80%), Grade IIb (10-50%), and Grade III ($<10\%$).

Endometrial Cups

Specialized fetal trophoblastic structures present from Day 40 to Day 120 of equine pregnancy that secrete equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) to stimulate secondary and supplemental corpora lutea.

63,XO Gonadal Dysgenesis

The most common chromosomal defect causing infertility in phenotypic female horses, characterized by small stature, infantile tract, thin flaccid uterus, and small, firm, smooth ovaries.

Granulosa Theca Cell Tumor (GTCT)

The most common ovarian neoplasm in the mare, characterized by loss of the ovulation fossa, atrophy of the contralateral ovary, behavioral abnormalities, and elevated circulating inhibin, testosterone, and AMH.

Delayed Uterine Clearance (DUC)

An impairment of mechanical evacuation in susceptible mares defined by the inability to eliminate intrauterine bacterial contamination within 36 to 48 hours or failure to clear $>50\%$ of radiocolloid within 2 hours.

Early Embryonic Death (EED)

The death and loss of the equine conceptus occurring prior to approximately Day 45 of gestation, before the completion of organogenesis.

Dysmature Foal

A newborn foal delivered at or past expected gestation ($>320\,\text{days}$) exhibiting signs of abnormal maturity or development, often associated with in utero placentitis or amnionitis.

Equine Chorionic Gonadotropin (eCG)

A luteinizing hormone-like gonadotropin secreted by endometrial cups between Day 40 and Day 120 of pregnancy that induces ovulation or luteinization of follicles to form accessory corpora lutea.

Embryonic Fixation (Equine)

The cessation of mobility of the spherical equine embryonic vesicle at approximately Day 17 of gestation, typically lodging at the base of one of the uterine horns.

Dizygotic Twins (Equine)

Fraternal twin conceptuses that develop from two distinct ovulations; they comprise greater than 95% of equine twin pregnancies and primarily arise from asynchronous ovulations.

Fetal Cranio-Cervical Dislocation

A manual twin reduction technique performed between Days 60 and 110 of gestation via flank laparotomy to dislocate the cervical spine of one fetus, resulting in cessation of its heartbeat within 1 to 3 weeks.

Ascending Placentitis

The most common form of equine placentitis, classically caused by Streptococcus equi zooepidemicus advancing through the cervix to infect the adjacent chorion at the cervical star.

Nocardioform Placentitis

A bacterial placentitis caused by organisms such as Crossiella equi, characterized by thick, brown, sticky, mud-like exudate located at the base of the uterine horns and body while sparing the cervical star.

Combined Thickness of the Uterus and Placenta (CTUP)

A transrectal ultrasonographic measurement taken at the caudal uterine/cervical junction used to detect placental thickening, edema, or premature detachment associated with placentitis.

Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1)

A virus causing respiratory disease, late-term abortions (7 months to term), and neurological signs; aborted fetal tissues characteristically show intranuclear eosinophilic inclusion bodies.

Fetal Mummification

Intrauterine death of a fetus in the absence of bacterial infection, where fetal fluids are absorbed and the uterus contracts tightly around the desiccated remains.

Premature Placental Separation ("Red Bag")

An acute obstetric emergency where the chorioallantois detaches precociously and presents at the vulva as a velvety, bright red, intact membrane, risking severe fetal hypoxia if not ruptured immediately.

Cervical Star

The pale, avillous zone on the chorionic surface of the equine placenta that directly opposes the internal cervical os, serving as the landmark site for lesions of ascending placentitis.

Eponychium ("Foal Slippers")

The soft, deciduous, finger-like horn tissue covering the hooves of a newborn foal that protects the maternal genital tract from laceration during birth and sloughs shortly after standing.

Burn’s Technique

A method to treat retained fetal membranes in the mare by distending the allantoic cavity through the cervical star with 3 to 4 gallons of warm saline to stimulate separation and expulsion.

E.X.I.T. (EX-utero Intra-partum Treatment)

An obstetric resuscitation procedure where a trapped foal is intubated and ventilated with an Ambu-bag while partially in the birth canal, relieving urgency during dystocia correction.

Colorado Artificial Vagina

A rigid, heavy-cased artificial vagina that acts as a heat sink to maintain water temperature during semen collection and fits inside phantom mounts.

Progressively Motile Morphologically Normal Spermatozoa (PMMNS)

The primary metric of sperm output in a stallion BSE; a minimum of $1 \times 10^9$ (1 billion) PMMNS in the second of two collections taken one hour apart is required for a satisfactory rating.

Testicular Degeneration (Equine)

A condition characterized by decreased testicular size, soft to firm consistency, wrinkled tunica albuginea, elevated circulating FSH, and decreased inhibin and estrogen.

Habronemiasis ("Summer Sores")

Granulomatous lesions of the urethral process, glans, or prepuce induced by aberrant cutaneous migration of Habronema muscae larvae, displaying characteristic yellow caseous granules.

Paraphimosis

The inability of a stallion to retract the flaccid, prolapsed, and edematous penis back into the preputial cavity following trauma, nerve damage, exhaustion, or administration of phenothiazines.

Phimosis

A condition in which the stallion or gelding is unable to protrude the penis from the preputial orifice, often due to congenital stricture of the preputial ring or severe swelling.

Priapism

A persistent, abnormal penile tumescence without sexual excitement, resulting from impaired venous outflow and sluggish blood pooling in the corpus cavernosum penis.

Cartilaginous Process (Camelid)

A firm, spiral-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure at the apex of the camelid penis that facilitates mechanical dilation and penetration of the female's cartilaginous cervical rings during copulation.

Epidermal Membrane (Camelid)

An extra-fetal fourth membrane unique to camelids that encases the cria at birth, attaching at the mucocutaneous junctions and coronary bands to provide lubrication in an otherwise fluid-scarce delivery.

Berserk Male Syndrome

An aberrant aggressive behavior directed toward humans seen in sexually mature male llamas and alpacas that were excessively handled or bottle-fed as crias, caused by improper social imprinting.

Buck Effect

The induction of an LH surge, ovulation, and synchronized fertile estrus in transitional does or ewes stimulated by introducing a mature male after at least 3 weeks of strict isolation.

Flushing (Small Ruminants)

The practice of increasing energy nutrition 2 to 3 weeks prior to the breeding season to elevate circulating metabolic signals, promote folliculogenesis, and maximize ovulation and twinning rates in ewes and does.

Ringwomb

A condition in sheep characterized by the complete failure of the cervix to dilate during stage II parturition despite vigorous myometrial labor contractions, typically requiring a Cesarean section.

Pregnancy Toxemia (Small Ruminants)

A metabolic disorder occurring in late gestation in ewes and does carrying multiple fetuses, characterized by severe negative energy balance, lipolysis, ketosis, recumbency, tremors, and bruxism.

Border Disease Virus (BDV)

An ovine pestivirus that crosses the placenta to cause embryonic death, mummification, and the birth of weak "hairy shaker lambs" displaying rhythmic body tremors and excessive hairy pigmentation.

Ovine Campylobacteriosis

A major cause of late-term abortion and stillbirths in sheep caused by Campylobacter fetus fetus or Campylobacter jejuni, pathognomonically producing distinct circumscribed necrotic target lesions in the fetal liver.

PG600

A commercial injectable hormonal combination containing 400 IU PMSG (equine chorionic gonadotropin) and 200 IU hCG used to induce follicular growth and fertile estrus in prepubertal gilts and weaned sows.

Zearalenone

A mycotoxin produced by Fusarium graminearum with potent estrogenic activity that causes hyperestrogenism in swine, including vulvovaginitis, persistent corpora lutea, and pseudopregnancy.