Prolonged gestation in a Swedish Red cow due to fetal unilateral adrenal gland dysgenesis

Prolonged gestation in a Swedish Red cow due to fetal unilateral adrenal gland dysgenesis

A 5-year-old Swedish Red cow, pregnant for 465 days according to the last insemination record, was presented in this case.She conceived by artificial insemination at spontaneous estrus using frozen-thawed sperm of Swedish Red sire. No abnormalities weredetected during gestation and no clinical signs of parturition at the expected time of delivery were noted. She was reexamined severaltimes to eliminate breeding records error and, once prolonged gestation was confirmed, parturition was induced. The calf survived birthbut died 10 min after birth. A macroscopically giant fetus was diagnosed. Following necropsy, some congenital anomalies were noticed.While the structure of the right adrenal gland was normal, disorganized soft tissue was observed in the left one, in which cortical andmedullar regions could not be distinguished. The calf ’s pituitary gland was also normal. Thus, prolonged gestation was attributed to acase of unilateral adrenal gland dysgenesis.

___

  • 1. Jackson PGG. Prolonged gestation in cattle and sheep. In: Kahn MA (editor). The Merck Veterinary Manual. 9th ed. Whitehouse Station, Great Britain: Merck&Co.; 2005. pp. 1137-1141.
  • 2. Stabenfeldt GH, Edqvist L, Drost M. Endocrine changes during normal and prolonged bovine pregnancy. Acta Endocrinol (Suppl.) 1975; 199: 385.
  • 3. McFeely RA, Ganjam VK. Induction of parturition in farm animals. Ann Rech Vet 1976; 7 (2): 151-156.
  • 4. Liggins GC. The role of cortisol in preparing the fetus for birth. Reprod Fertil Dev 1994; 6 (2): 141-150. doi: 10.1071/ RD9940141
  • 5. Liggins GC, Kennedy PC, Holm LW. Failure of initiation of parturition after electrocoagulation of the pituitary of the fetal lamb. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1967; 98 (8): 1080-1086. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(67)90031-2
  • 6. Wood CE. Estrogen/hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis interactions in the fetus: the interplay between placenta and fetal brain. J Soc Gynecol Investig 2005; 12: 67-76. doi:10.1016/j. jsgi.2004.10.011
  • 7. Drost M, Holm LW. Prolonged gestation in ewes after foetal adrenalectomy. J Endocr 1968; 40: 293-296.
  • 8. Graves TK, Hansel W, Krook L. Prolonged gestation in a Holstein cow: adenohypophyseal aplasia and skeletal pathology in the offspring. Cornell Vet 1991; 81: 277-294.
  • 9. Cornillie P, Van den Broeck W, Simoens P. Prolonged gestation in two Belgian blue cows due to inherited adenohypophyseal hypoplasia in the fetuses. Vet Rec 2007; 161 (11): 388-391. doi: 10.1136/vr.161.11.388
  • 10. Buczinski S, Bélanger AM, Fecteau G, Roy JP. Prolonged gestation in two Holstein cows: transabdominal ultrasonographic findings in late pregnancy and pathologic findings in the fetuses. J Vet Med A 2007; 54 (10): 624-626. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0442.2007.00985.x
  • 11. Akkoç A, Özyiğit MÖ, Yılmaz R, Alasonyalılar A, Cangül IT. Cardiac metastasizing rhabdomyosarcoma in a great Dane. Vet Rec 2006; 158: 803-804. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ vr.158.23.803
  • 12. Holm LW. Prolonged pregnancy. Adv Vet Sci 1967; 11:159-205.
  • 13. Nathanielsz PW. A time to be born: how the fetus signals to the mother that it is time to leave the uterus. Cornell Vet 1993; 83: 181-187.