Systemic Pathology I: Female and Male Reproductive Systems

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering systemic pathology of the female and male reproductive systems, including developmental anomalies, inflammatory conditions, and neoplasms.

Wolffian duct

The embryonic duct that persists and develops if the gonads are testes.

Mullerian duct

The embryonic duct that persists and develops if the gonads are ovaries.

Bovine freemartin

A genetic female bovine calf born as a co-twin with a male, where sharing a common placental circulation leads to severe hypoplasia of the female genitalia and sterility in $\text{over } 90\,\%$ of cases.

Chimeras

Individuals having two or more types of cells, each with a different chromosomal constitution, often resulting from the exchange and colonization of hematopoietic cells between twins.

True Hermaphrodites

Rare individuals possessing both ovarian and testicular tissue, which can be unilateral, bilateral, or occur as a combined organ known as an ovotestis.

Pseudohermaphrodites

Individuals possessing chromosomes and gonads of one sex while the tubular organs are modified toward the characteristics of the opposite sex.

XX sex reversal

A condition documented in dogs, pigs, goats, and mice where the gonadal sex does not follow the chromosomal sex despite the absence of a Y chromosome; most common in American Cocker spaniels.

XY sex reversal

An autosomal dominant inherited condition reported in horses where animals are XY but phenotypically appear as mares, often resulting in sterility.

Ovarian dysgenesis

A developmental disorder characterized by small, misshapen ovaries and an underdeveloped tubular tract.

Oophoritis

Inflammation of the ovaries, typically resulting from an ascending infection from the uterus or peritoneum.

Atretic follicles

Follicles that fail to mature and ovulate during the estrus cycle, instead undergoing degeneration and disappearance; these may occasionally become cystic.

Follicular cysts

Thin-walled cysts filled with serous fluid that arise from follicles failing to ovulate; they are common in cattle, pigs, and dogs and often cause nymphomania.

Corpus luteum cysts

Cysts formed when the opening of a follicle seals after egg release, leading to the accumulation of fluid inside the sac.

Teratomas

Primary ovarian tumors arising from pluripotent primordial germ cells (eggs) that can form structures like hair, teeth, bones, liver, or kidneys.

Hydrosalpinx

A condition in which the fallopian tubes are distended with watery serous or mucinous fluid, often due to mechanical or functional lumen obstruction.

Salpingitis

Inflammation of the oviduct, often arising from a spread of infection from the uterus; when grossly visible pus is present, it is termed pyosalpinx.

Adenomyosis

The presence of endometrial glands and stroma between the muscle fibers of the myometrium.

Endometritis

Inflammation limited to the endometrium, which is the starting point for almost all uterine infections.

Metritis

Inflammation of the entire uterine wall, including the endometrium and myometrium, common following parturition.

Pyometra

An acute or chronic suppurative infection of the uterus characterized by an accumulation of pus in the lumen and a closed or partially closed cervix.

Leiomyoma

A benign tumor of smooth muscle in the uterine wall, commonly found in the bitch and known as fibroids in humans.

Gartner's ducts

Ducts in the ventrolateral wall of the cranial vagina that may develop cystic dilations in cattle.

Transmissible venereal tumour (TVT)

A viral tumor of dogs, also known as Sticker's sarcoma, transmitted by coitus where neoplastic cells are transplanted like a graft.

Ectopic pregnancy

The rare development of an embryo outside the uterine cavity, occurring in the ovary, bursa ovarica, fallopian tube, or abdominal cavity.

Hydramnios

The excessive accumulation of fetal fluid specifically within the amniotic cavity, often associated with fetal malformations.

Hydroallantois

The excessive accumulation of fetal fluid within the allantoic cavity, typically associated with abnormal adventitial placentation.

Abortion

The expulsion of a dead fetus prior to the time of expected viability.

Fetal mummification

A process following fetal death in the absence of infection where soft tissues undergo sterile liquefaction and reabsorption, leaving a brown or black leather-like mass.

Fetal maceration

The process where a dead, retained fetus undergoes autolysis in the presence of a bacterial uterine infection.

Placentitis

Inflammation of the placenta, which can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi and often leads to abortion.

Polythelia

A developmental mammary anomaly characterized by the presence of accessory teats.

Gynaecomastia

Hypertrophy of the mammary gland in the male, which may involve the secretion of serous fluid or milk.

Acute hemorrhagic mastitis

A severe, necrotizing, or gangrenous inflammation of the mammary gland that is often fatal and characterized by blue or black discoloration of tissues.

Suppurative mastitis

Inflammation caused by organisms like Actinomyces pyogenes, resulting in multiple abscesses with foul, yellowish-green pus.

Cryptococcus neoformans

A fungal organism that causes cryptococcal mastitis, resulting in thick, slimy grayish secretions and granulomas in chronic cases.

Persistent Mullerian Duct Syndrome (PMDS)

A disorder in male dogs where a deficiency in Mullerian inhibiting substance (MIS) function causes the retention of female tubular organs in an otherwise externally normal male.

Cryptorchidism

A developmental disorder defined as the failure of one or both testicles to descend into the scrotal sac.

Gubernaculum

A cord of mesenchymal tissue that facilitates the descent of the testis into the scrotum by attaching the developing testis to the forming scrotal pouch.

Hydrocele

The accumulation of clear serous fluid within the tunica vaginalis.

Seminoma

A primary testicular neoplasm arising from the germinal epithelium of the seminiferous tubules.

Spermatocele

A cystic dilation of the epididymal duct resulting in the accumulation of sperm.

Funiculitis

Inflammation of the spermatic cord, which may occur after open castration; the chronic form in horses is known as scirrhous cord.

Phimosis

A condition characterized by the narrowness of the preputial orifice, preventing the protrusion of the penis.

Paraphimosis

A constriction of the prepuce posterior to the glans penis that prevents the retraction of the swollen glans into the sheath.

Balanoposthitis

Inflammation involving both the glans penis (balanitis) and the prepuce (posthitis).