#theriogenology

[great-and-small]

What do you mean by storing and reusing sperm??????

Lots of female animals hold their partner’s sperm a little more closely than humans do! From insects to birds to reptiles to fish, there are many examples of what’s generally referred to as “long term sperm storage”. Essentially a reproduction strategy that can utilize sperm from a single copulation to produce different batches of offspring over time.

Imagine you’re a female loggerhead sea turtle, a solitary animal that traverses vast distances. It might be hard to find a suitable mate, and if you do, it’s not always likely you’ll see him again. So perhaps you evolve special tubules in your reproductive tract that are specifically designed to store your mate’s sperm and keep cells alive for your usage at a later date. There is even some evidence that suggests female turtles with multiple stored sperm samples may be able to “choose” which one fertilizes them. Interested readers may look into “cryptic female choice” for more information on this topic in general.

To my knowledge the record for long term storage of sperm goes to a western diamondback rattlesnake who reused a partner’s sperm after seven years!

[labvet]

Today in vet school:

We are listening to a lecture about diagnosing pregnancy in our primary species. Unfortunately we already had a whole episode about diagnosing it in the cow… and here we are…with another 10-15 min recap of the same lecture…

[lordgrimwing]

I am very curious about the Breeding AU and Art Therapy in Mandos, Feanor-style sounds simply delightful!

Art Therapy in Mandos answered here!

and the breeding au . . . oh gosh, this is tough. Here goes - but first some warnings

CW: lots of discussion about reproduction, things that can go wrong during pregnancy, and sexual assault. So, you know, be warned and go forward at your own discretion. oh, also mpreg. there's mpreg, too, because what's the point of a breeding au if half the population can't carry babies!

So, this all started because I had to take a comparative theriogenology (that's the study of reproduction in various domestic animal species) and I really disliked studying for most of it, so I decided to relate as much of the content as possible to elves and make it stick a little better. After some conversations with Nightie, these random ideas turned into a full au.

As many have likely noticed, lots of elves die fighting Morgoth. Lots of orcs die, too, but unlike the elves they seem to breed like rodents so there are always more of them, while the elven population steadily declines toward nothing. Realizing how untenable this situation is, most of the elves decide they'd better start having lots of babies to rebuild the population before they're wiped out. The Noldor, being the Noldor, of course turn this into a science to optimize the process and improve genetic diversity and have more strong warriors.

The main exception to this is the Feanorians. They've already accepted their doom at this point and have no interest (or supplied) in making babies. In fact, the Feanorians , being more LaCE compliant, are rather horrified by what they hear is going on.

Well, the third kinslaying happens. M+M get E+E and love grows between them, etc etc. The twins grow up, food grows scarce, and eventually M+M make the hard decision to send the half-elves away so that they don't starve to death.

Gil-galad is the natural choice as new guardian, of course. He's supported by the recent arrival of the Host of Valinor, and the twins are half Noldor. If anyone's going to accept two ill-kempt and weird peredhil, Gil-galad's the one.

The only problem being, of course, that the Feanorians all know that Gil-galad's people have the nasty habit of making everyone have children.

Maedhros and Maglor sit Elros and Elrond down before send thing them away. The twins already know about what might happened. They're scared but trying to keep a brave face because leaving is already painful enough without thinking about the future. Maedhros talks for awhile about what they've heard of the Noldor, and then makes a big point of telling the twins that as long as they firmly say 'no, we don't want to do that', they will be okay because the other elves aren't monsters and they won't force them - the twins just must be sure to always say no and never let anyone thing the answer could be anything else.

The twins leave.

Maglor watches them go and quietly whispers to himself that they'll be ok, that nothing bad will happen to them.

Maedhros looks at his bother, shakes his head, says 'You fool', and walks away to be alone.

Gil-galad accepts the sons of Elwing with open arms, shocked to realize they are alive. He gives them a tent near his, tells them to come to him if they need anything and he'll help or get someone to help (he is very busy after all). He let's them get settled in.

E+E try to adapt to their new lives. The camp is strange, there's so many customs and social norms they don't know and they've never seen so many children running around. They are very firm in their rejection of anyone who tries to get to know them better.

These youths were raised by kinslaying Feanorians, Gil-galad reminds himself after hearing several complaints about Elrond snapping at anyone who tries to talk to him and Elros starting nearly daily fist fights, he probably should have focused more attention on helping them integrate. So, he summons the twins for a chat to try to figure out how to help them adjust to their new lives and explain that, actually, civilized people don't bite people who say 'hi' to them.

He really was not prepared to have the evening conversation, held over dinner to help maintain a relaxed atmosphere, collapse into Elrond glaring at him while holding the cutlery in a clearly aggressive way and Elros shouting that they aren't going to let anyone force a baby into them. Once he composes himself, Gil-galad adamantly explains that none of his people are in the business of raping anyone and besides that, they've got a few more decades before their of age by elvish standards (even if they do look all grown up already).

And there you have it, that's most of the cohesive plot of the au. Then it's just kind of vaguely connected things once Elrond is all grown up and actually decides he wants to have kids with Celebrian and Gil-galad. And also him being a healer and dealing with some of the complications that can arise during pregnancy.

Oh, and of course Glorfindel and Erestor are here too. The issue being that Glorfindel is a mighty warrior, right? So he's supposed to have kids with other warriors to help make sure there's more epic fighters, but it turns out that these warriors all tend to not a great fertility so that doesn't work out so well. And Erestor is of course like a scribe or something so he's supposed to keep his hands off the warriors (he also isn't interested in having kids). Anyway, eventually they get to be together and it's nice.

Gosh, there's even a whole story worth of idea about some random elf and something going terribly wrong during the end of her pregnancy. Humans help her get to Rivendell so Elrond can help her.

-

And that's a wrap. If you made it that far, haha!, hope you enjoyed my insanity

Ask me about fics that live rent-free in my head!

[careforcritters]

Vet Med in Warrior Cats: Reproduction and Theriogenology

Disclaimer

Additional disclaimer for this one: I fully understand why a lot of these issues were not addressed in the series since it is written for children, but I still think the topic is interesting and that some concepts, especially those involving kitting, could have been more accurate.

Cats are seasonally polyestrous long day breeders, meaning that the females only cycle reproductively in the spring and experience multiple heat cycles every breeding cycle. Estrous cycles occur when the females are exposed to over 14 hours of light every day, so depending on the climate that they are in, cats are only able to become pregnant in the spring and fall. A queen’s gestation period (the time that they spend pregnant) is 2 months, so queens can have their kits from about late spring to early fall. The location of warriors is never confirmed, but it is presumed to be in England or the UK since that is where the authors are based, and since it snows every winter. With a colder, darker climate, this breeding season is even shorter. Queens in warriors are shown to have their kits at any time of year, even in the dead of winter. It is possible for some females, especially short haired breeds, to be able to cycle year-round, but not common. Narratively it makes sense to spread the litters out, but realistically the clans would have most of their kittens in the summer and fall. 

Cats are also induced ovulators, which means that ovulation is triggered by and occurs about 24-48 hours after mating. Females need to be in estrus to allow mating, but the induced ovulation makes it very likely that pregnancy will result from mating. Females may also mate with multiple males over the span of a few days, meaning that one litter can have multiple fathers. This is not something we would see in warriors since there is an unspoken societal standard of monogamy. 

Pregnant cats require almost double their normal nutrient intake in the second half of gestation, and even more while nursing. Taurine deficiency can cause pregnancy loss, as well as malnutrition in general. It would not be uncommon for a queen to lose her pregnancy if prey is scarce in her clan. There are several infectious causes of pregnancy loss, including feline herpes, FIV, FIP, feline panleukemia, toxoplasma gondii, and other bacterial infections of the reproductive tract. Many of these diseases, especially feline herpesvirus, are extremely common in feral cat populations. Early, undetected embryonic loss from these diseases could be a reason for why female cats in warriors are not pregnant as often as real life feral cats, but that is unlikely. Cats in warriors seem to be able to plan when they become pregnant (except when it's a secret forbidden romance of course), and I have no explanation for why that could be. Unless the medicine cats discovered an herb that can act as contraception (progestagens, dexamethasone (a gluccocorticoid) and dopamine agonists can all be used in companion animals as temporary contraception, but they all have moderate systemic side effects). 

At the start of parturition (birthing), queens become restless, pace, and nest. Once uterine contractions begin, the “water breaks” and a kitten should be delivered every 3 to 5 minutes. This entire process can take anywhere from 4 to 42 hours, with the average being about 16 hours. It’s unclear how much time the birthing process takes in warrior cats, but it usually seems to be much faster than this. In Bluestar’s Prophecy, when Leopardfoot has been kitting for “most of the afternoon” and then into the night, this is implied to be an abnormally long amount of time. 

Dystocia (complications with pregnancy) are pretty rare in cats. The most common cause is primary uterine inertia, which is when the queen is unable to begin uterine contractions. This would be treated with oxytocin in a veterinary clinic to induce contractions. Borage is stated to be used to help with milk let down and may work to stimulate oxytocin since oxytocin is also used to stimulate milk letdown. The other common causes of dystocia are uterine torsion and oversized fetuses, both of which would require a C-section to correct. 

When Sorreltail is kitting in The Forgotten Warrior, she is described to be in pain and having trouble passing the kits. Jayfeather gives her chervil root to help, so it is implied to be either something to give Sorreltail strength or to help with uterine contractions. Several sources said that chervil can be useful for cough, eczema, and even abscesses, but there was no indication that it could be useful during childbirth. 

Leopardfoot is also described to have a long, painful kitting in Bluestar’s Prophecy. Featherwhisker gives her raspberry leaves. Raspberry leaves have been shown to benefit with strengthening uterine tone and facilitating contractions, so this herb would be more useful than chervil root. Two of Leopardfoot’s kits die young because she kitted two weeks too early. This is called “fading” and occurs because the kits were not able to thermoregulate or breathe properly. Premature kits are less likely to be developed properly, and may be lacking in reflexes such as suckling that would have helped them to acquire sufficient nutrients and immune-boosting milk (colostrum). 

In Crookedstar’s Promise, Brightsky delivered 3 stillborn kits followed by one surviving kit, and then died. Brightsky had been sick not long before her kitting and was described to still be weak from her illness. Brightsky likely was sick with a virus that causes late term abortion, like herpes, FIV, or panleukemia. While it is possible for a cat to abort some fetuses and still deliver other fetuses to term, it’s not common, especially this late into the pregnancy. I honestly was not able to find the most concrete information on this, but it is feasible for Leapordkit to have survived. As for Brightsky, she likely died because the three stillborn fetuses mummified inside of her, causing her to develop an infection. If this were true, she would have had dark or purulent vaginal discharge and had abdominal pain even before her kitting.

Silverstream also died from dystocia after delivering her kits in Forest of Secrets. She is described to have powerful spasms that slowly got weaker, which sounds like secondary uterine inertia (when the queen is too exhausted to continue contractions). Since she only had two small kits and fetal malpositioning is rare in cats, there might have been some sort of obstruction to the birth canal. In later books, Silverstream was described to have been “blood soaked”. Possible causes of hemorrhage during birthing could be uterine vessel tearing, uterine rupture, or uterine torsion. Uterine torsion would cause an obstruction to the birth canal and would require emergency surgery. The likelihood of Featherkit and Stormkit surviving would have been very low without the ability to intervene and there are no reported cases of a uterine torsion resolving without surgery. It is most likely that Silverstream experienced uterine rupture due to the stress of contractions.

There are several other common reproductive issues that do not appear in warriors. Mammary hyperplasia is the spontaneous overgrowth of mammary tissue in intact female (and sometimes male) cats. This condition usually spontaneously regresses, but it can be confused with mammary neoplasia. Mastitis is the bacterial infection of mammary glands after parturition. This condition is not only painful and dangerous for the queen, but can cause the kits to fail to thrive. This would be treated with antibiotics, warm compresses, and milk replacer for the kittens in a veterinary clinic. Cystic endometrial hyperplasia is a degenerative condition mediated by a hormone called progesterone. Too much progesterone causes the endometrial glands to proliferate and over-secrete hormones, making the uterus an ideal environment for bacteria and leading to pyometra (bacterial infection of the uterus). Depending on if the cervix is open or closed, the queen will either have purulent vaginal discharge or the pus will build up in the uterus. While a closed cervix is more dangerous, both will cause the cat to feel extremely sick, vomit, run a fever, and experience renal dysfunction. A pyometra can quickly develop into a systemic condition, so emergency ovariohysterectomy is required to save the cat's life.

Sources:

BSVA Manual of Canine and Feline Reproduction and Neonatology. Gary England and A. von Heimendahl, 2nd Ed, 2011

L. Ari Jutkowitz, Reproductive emergencies, Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, Volume 35, Issue 2, 2005

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2055116917726228

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/reproductive-system/reproductive-diseases-of-the-female-small-animal/dystocia-in-small-animals

https://www.rxlist.com/chervil/supplements.htm

https://healthyfocus.org/health-benefits-of-chervil/

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/top-9-health-benefits-of-raspberry-leaf-tea

[jobkash]

Internship in Theriogenology (6-month)

Position DetailsReq ID:req18438Position Title:Internship in Theriogenology (6-month)Position Type:Adjunct/Temporary FacultyPosition Number:AF9239OSU Campus:StillwaterDepartment:Veterinary Clinical SciencesLocation Address:Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OKHiring Supervisor:Dr. Julia MontgomeryHiring Range: (Contingent upon available funding):0.00 – 0.00,…

[sergeantpoliteness]

The first cloned dog's name was... Snuppy??!!

"Snuppy (Korean: 스너피 a portmanteau of "SNU" and "puppy"; April 24, 2005 – May 2015)[2] was an Afghan hound, the first dog clone. The puppy was created using a cell from an ear from an adult Afghan hound and involved 123 surrogate mothers, of which only two produced pups (Snuppy being the sole survivor). The Department of Theriogenology and Biotechnology at Seoul National University, which cloned Snuppy, was led by Woo Suk Hwang."

[bode-leone]

got my equine breeding/theriogenology placement confirmed!!! both my clinical and specialist placements are locked in!!!

[medvetpequenosanimais]

Uso da balança de alta precisão para acompanhamento neonatal de cães e gatos: Peso ao nascer, perda de peso no primeiro dia e Ganho de peso semanal

Mini balança até 2 kg (de 1g - 2 kg)

Balança de 1 g - 10 kg.

Peso ao nascer O peso ao nascer está associado à sobrevivência. Num estudo realizado por Mugnier et al, o peso ao nascer inferior ao primeiro quartil definido para a raça foi associado à mortalidade dos gatinhos, não apenas nos primeiros 2 dias, mas também depois, aos 2–42 dias após o nascimento. Em outro estudo, o peso médio ao nascer em gatinhos foi relatado como sendo de 104 g (variação de 65 a 165 g) e aumentou com o aumento do peso e da altura (na cernelha) da cadela. Por outro lado, o peso ao nascer foi inversamente proporcional ao número de gestações e tamanho da ninhada. No estudo de Musters et al, o peso médio ao nascer foi de 98 g, com variação de 35 a 167 g; o peso médio ao nascer foi maior nos machos do que nas fêmeas.

O peso ao nascer inferior a 45 g foi significativamente associado a gatos nascidos mortos. em gatinhos, espera-se um ganho de peso de 50 a 100 g por semana, com diferenças principalmente relacionadas à raça. O ganho de peso deve ser constante e progressivo; qualquer perda ou estase necessita de observação rigorosa e tratamento conforme apropriado.

O limiar crítico para o peso ao nascer, que é útil na identificação de gatinhos em risco de mortalidade, foi definido em sete raças de gatos por Mugnier et al, e variou de 77 g em raças orientais até 120 g no Maine Coon. é interessante notar que, em Maine Coons, Socha et al relataram peso médio de 119,6 ± 18,4 g em gatinhos nascidos vivos, com peso ao nascer aumentando em gatinhos nascidos após gestações prolongadas (embora dentro dos intervalos relatados) e diminuindo com ninhadas maiores.

Uma perda <10% do peso ao nascer não é incomum nas primeiras 24 horas de vida. No entanto, na experiência dos autores, com gatinhos saudáveis e viáveis, onde as gatas apresentam lactação imediata normal e prestam cuidados maternos, esta perda não ocorre, e o ganho de peso já terá começado no dia 1. O ganho de peso é um indicador importante e preciso para avaliar a saúde dos recém-nascidos. em gatinhos, espera-se um ganho de peso de 50 a 100 g por semana, com diferenças principalmente relacionadas à raça.

Quando o ganho de peso for inferior ao esperado, deve ser fornecida alimentação suplementar e o gatinho observado escrupulosamente para detectar prontamente qualquer possível doença subjacente. Para o manejo de órfãos, uma fórmula comercial de substituição do leite de alta qualidade é a melhor opção. se a dieta não for corretamente balanceada, às vezes pode ser necessária suplementação multivitamínica, energética ou de taurina.

Fonte: FELINE NEONATOLOGY: From birth to commencement of weaning – what to know for successful management. Maria Cristina Veronesi and Jasmine Fusi. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (2022) 24, 232–242.

Referências bibliográficas:

Musters J, de Gier J, Kooistra HS, et al. Questionnaire based survey of parturition in the queen. Theriogenology 2011; 75: 1596–1601

Socha P, Lengling R, Bonecka J, et al. Obstetric and newborn parameters in the Maine Coon cats. Pol J Vet Sci 2019; 22: 439–443.

Lawler dF and Monti KL. Morbidity and mortality in neonatal kittens. Am J Vet Res 1984; 45: 1455–1459.

Little S. Feline pediatrics: how to treat the small and the sick. Comp Contin Educ Pract 2011; 33: E3.

Mugnier A, Mila H, Guiraud F, et al. Birth weight as a risk factor for neonatal mortality: breed-specific approach to identify at-risk puppies. Prev Vet Med 2019; 171: 104746. doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.104746

Gatel L, Rosset E, Chalvet-Monfray K, et al. Relationships between fetal biometry, maternal factors and birth weight of purebred domestic cat kittens. Theriogenology 2011; 76: 1716–1722.

[embeddscom]

How to Choose a Rat Strain for Your Research?

How to Choose a Rat Strain for Your Research?

The laboratory rats, Rattus norvegicus, have been used in research, and their use is steadily augmented over the last decade. A laboratory mouse can be used as a biological research model in physiology, pharmacology, toxicology, immunology, theriogenology, molecular genetics, medicine, and oncology. Rats and mice are genetically characterized as distinct, and rats have a larger size to allow…

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Any idea why polar bears are so hard to breed in captivity? Imo it’s easier to breed pandas and cetaceans than them.

Admittedly I don't know very much about this topic. I looked into it briefly, and it seems that female polar bears in particuar have naturally low fecundity and produce relatively few offspring in their lifetime, even in the wild. They are also induced ovulators, meaning that the female has to actually physically copulate with a male before she releases an egg, which makes breeding by artificial insemination more difficult.

A stable population of polar bears in human care is extremely imporant to the species' long-term survival, so let's wish the veterinarians and researchers working to make those adorable little polar bear babies the best of luck!

[vetisntdead]

More reasons why horses are weird: therio edition

-their ovaries are inside out

-their ovaries are massive

-their ovaries are attached to the body wall, making it simultaneously easier and harder to find them

-ovulation causes a massive hematoma in the ovary

-rectaling a horse must be done gently- they have shitty rectums

-their uterine tone is low during oestrus (making it difficult to find), the opposite of every other specie

-their uterine tone is high during dioestrus so the trophoblast can bounce around in there, knocking on the uterine walls so the mare can recognize the pregnancy

-horses are bad a twinning. so bad in fact, that one twin routinely gets manually squished to prevent dystocia

-their cervix is hormone responsive, and follows the same tone as the uterus during cycling, making it difficult to find

-they're long-day cycling

-more experienced mares routinely bite the person carrying the lube and rectal glove. they know what's coming

[criticalcaredvm]

👉🏻Earlier this week I had the privilege of leading a #resuscitationteam asociated with an emergency Caesarian section (#csection) for a 4 year old #GreatDane 👉🏻The bitch was in distress and her uterus ruptured. A recipe for disaster?🧐 👉🏻Not for this team of amazing licensed veterinary technicians (#LVTs) & veterinary assistants (#VAs)👍🏻 👉🏻13 precious #puppies were delivered and were ultimately discharged from the hospital with her #mother!❤️ #emergency #neonate #vetmed #resuscitation #caesariansection #reproduction #theriogenology #obstetrics https://www.instagram.com/p/B9714QiJDrC/?igshid=6rqbb25wp7ya

[lordgrimwing]

Fics Living Rent-free in my Mind Game

I was tagged by @runawaymun to talk about the stories/AUs I have loafing around inside my brain but haven't actually written any stories for yet (whether of not said stories made it to the light of day for others to see). You might notice a pattern with the kinds of things I think about but never write 😳. Also most of them are co-parented with Nightie.

Anyone can send me an ask about anything on this list and I will be happy to talk at great length about the insanity of what's in my head.

The Breeding AU - look, Elrond is a blurbo and the only way I got through my theriogenology class was by inflicting what I studied on blurbos... and sometimes I need an au where the elves are desperately trying to rebuild their population at the end of the 1st age.

Tiny Erestor AU - an au of the rarely talked about Tiny Elrond au (which I've written several stories for but haven't got around to posting yet), in which both Elrond and Erestor are two inches tall. Everyone else is normal sized.

Balrog Porno AU - Glorfindel, Turgon, and Ecthelion get hired to act in a high budget porn movie with balrogs. Ecthelion's the only professional actor of the three.

Gil-galad's stressed about being the king. what it says on the tin plus Elrond distracting him with being sexy and then they work together to create a government that doesn't needs a king so Gil can retire.

Art Therapy in Mandos, Feanor-style - Feanor, a box of crayons, a meditative coloring book, and nothing but time.

Stealthros AU - The Feanorians are dragons, the silmarils are eggs, and Elrond just hissed and bit Gil-galad's hand.

[edit, how did I forget!] Marsupial elves AU - everything's the same except the elves are marsupial and they all have pouches for their cute little kids to hang out in, oh and Celebrian, Elrond, and Gil-galad are together. Being part human and maia, Elrond doesn't have a pouch, a fact his children greatly resent.

Ask away!

here's some low pressure tags, and if you don't have fic ideas, how about just aus or art ideas? Tagging @nighttimepatrons, @curufiin, @aroace-moron

[missnoodliness]

I somehow passed my theriogenology exam earlier this week??? I walked out confident only in the fact that I had not passed, but we just got scores released and I passed (and not just by a little bit).

Something is wrong...

Very wrong.

[islanddogtor]

09.08.2018 // The beginning of my extreme club involvement.

This weekend I got to participate in a wet lab through both the Large Animal club and the Theriogenology (repro) club. We went to the necropsy lab and 3 different professors showed us how to ultrasound reproductive tracks by using preserved specimen in a tub of water and how to insert an artificial inseminator through the cervix, which is actually pretty difficult, but I picked it up really quickly. We used models as well as a preserved specimen. I also had a scheduled shift at the small animal clinic through the emergency club, but literally nothing was going on so I used the 3 hours to work on my ethics paper instead. We also had our first quiz in virology and our first lab quiz for parasitology this past week. Both went okay, but I know I need to get into a better studying routine. The beginning of the term is always a little bit rocky.

[agrariacad]

agrariacad.com/english #agrarian #agronomy #veterinary #science #animalscience #cropscience #forestry #university #college #veterinarymedicine #vetmed #plant #agro #agri #soil #vet #soilscience #theriogenology # (em Brazil) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRAKkfalAVN/?utm_medium=tumblr