NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
SEMINO-VESICULITIS IN A BULL AT AN ARTIFICIAL
INSEMINATION CENTRE
By MAHENDRA PRATAP JOHARI, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry,
Mathura
(Received for publication on May 10, 1956)
(With two Text-figs.)
T HE affections of the male sex organs in bulls which are quite common may
be due to specific or unspecific causes. The inflammation of the part,
e.g. orchitis, epididymitis, ampulitis, seminal vesiculitis may be there with or
without the formation of abscess. In cattle, the specific causes have generally been
attributed to Brucella abortus ; Streptococci; Bacillus pyogenes and Bacillus tubercu-
losis. These affections often lead to sterility and become a source of infection
to the cows served or artificially inseminated.
Anamnesis
The bull No. 80/P15 of Sahiwal breed aged about 4 years stationed at Jaisingh-
pura in district Sultanpur was received at the Centre on April 6, 1955 from a Govern-
ment Farm in Lucknow where preliminary training for making collections in the
A. V. was given. At the Artificial Insemination Centre the bull was maintained under
optimum conditions of food and management. Its daily ration consisted of 9 seers
of bhusa, ¾ seer of crushed gram, ¾ seer of crushed barley, 1 seer of mustard cake
and 1 chhatak of common salt. In addition, to the above, green fodder was also
given. The bull was given 6 miles walking exercise in the morning and 3 miles
in the evening. The bull had a good sex desire, generally took 5-10 minutes to serve,
the seminal volume was 2-6 ml. and initial motility 3. The semen was seen to dete-
riorate rapidly, was greenish in appearance and watery in consistency. After about
two hours, it was not fit to be used for artificial insemination work.
From April to September 1955, 27 semen collections were made. During
this period 33 inseminations were carried out, 15 out of which were supposed to be
pregnant at 90 days' non-return basis. The Veterinary Officer, incharge of the
Artificial Insemination Centre, reported the matter to the Regional Sterility Officer,
Uttar Pradesh. On receipt of the report, the author examined the bull on Decem-
ber 13, 1955.
General clinical investigation
The bull looked healthy, in good condition and showed a lively temperament.
Skin, palpable lymph glands and visible mucous membrane were found normal.
Body temperature was not taken.
17
56 AR/56
3
18
SEMINO-VESICULITIS IN A BULL [Vol. XXVII, Part I,
Special clinical investigation
Circulatory, respiratory, digestive and nervous systems showed nothing of interest.
Locomotion was normal.
Urinary system. Percussion and rectal palpation of the kidneys revealed nothing
but no laboratory investigation was carried out.
Genital organs. Penis, prepuce, preputial ring were normal. Palpation and
inspection of the testicle and epididymis gave a healthy appearance. The testicles
were found to be soft, smooth, firm and free from any hardness or induration and were
freely moveable in the scrotum. The head, body and tail of the epididymis did not
show any abnormality. The function of the cremaster muscle was found normal as
the testicles moved up when the animal was taken out from the shed.
The accessory sex organs were palpated per rectum. The prostate as a circular
band, was found normal. The seminal vesicle of the left side at its proximal end
was found to be tense and slightly hard, had lost the lobulated structure and there
was a swollen area of ping-pong ball size. It appeared that the condition had passed
to a sub-acute, chronic stage. The seminal vesicle, the ampullae of the vasa deferens
on the right side appeared to be normal.
Sexual desire and serving ability were quite normal. It took good interest in the
females and was above the average for sex desire and serving ability for the breed.
Examination of semen
The slides from the semen collected on January 3, 1956 and February 25, 1956
were examined. The former sample contained a lot of epithelial casts, free proto-
plasmic drops and the abnormal spermatozoa were 10 per cent mostly tail abnor-
malities. The latter sample showed improvement. There were less epithelial
casts and free protoplasmic drops. No bacteria could be found in the films and
cultural examination was not carried out for want of adequate facilities.
Special sero-agglutination test
Agglutination test was carried out by the Veterinary Investigation Officer,
Livestock Research Station, Mathura on the serum from this bull against brucellosis.
The test proved negative.
DISCUSSION
The report of the Artificial Insemination Veterinarian that "the semen could not
be preserved even for two hours" led the author to suspect that there was some
pathological condition in the genital organs. The investigation revealed such a
condition in vesiculae seminalis. Careful examination during acute illness would
have revealed specks of pus in semen, visible in ordinary day light. Microscopic
examination of stained films would have shown leucocytes, epithelial debries and
possibly pathogenic organisms as well. The semen was examined on January 3,
March, 1957]
MAHENDRA
PRATAP
JOHARI
19
1956 and February 25, 1956 (after 10 months of sickness) when the animal had
recovered and so nothing of interest was found in the specimen. Such disorders,
are comparatively common in bulls in other countries and they are readily diagnosed.
In our country, they have not been recorded so far. The seminal vesiculitis, accord-
ing to various authors, does not cause any disturbance in the general condition unless
the inflammatory process spreads to the peritoneum, in which case the animal would
show symptoms of peritonitis. According to Lagerlof, Hedstrom and Hoflund
[1942], the bull's capacity to copulate is not affected whereas the capacity to fertilise
is reduced or completely suppressed. In such particular case, the percentage
of conception will be much below the normal but the sex desire will not, in any
way, be adversely affected.
The diseases of the seminal vesicles in bulls have been studied by Gilman [1922],
Williams and Savage [1925], Williams and Bushnell [1941], Lagerlof [1938, 1942]
and Blom [1947]. They have observed that micro-organisms such as Streptococci,
Bacillus pyogenes, Brucella abortus, Bacillus tuberculosis may be responsible. The
role of the bull in the transmission of Brucella abortus infection has been extensively
studied by Birch and Gilman [1926], Seagsvold [1927], Thomson [1936], Jepsen and
Jorgensen [1938], and vesiculitis was shown to be of special importance in this
respect.
Lagerlof et al., [1942], consider that the diagnosis should be based or confirmed
on palpation of the seminal vesicle and feel that owing to the emission of the infectious
matter with the semen, bulls suffering from seminal vesiculitis may become dangerous
transmitters of infection, within a herd or between different herds.
DIAGNOSIS
The clinical diagnosis made by examination of the Sahiwal bull No. 80/15 revealed
seminal vesiculitis on the left side. The present findings explain the cause of the
rapid deterioration of semen during preservation.
A schematic picture of vesiculae seminalis of a healthy bull and a normal sample of
semen is given in Fig. 1. In the Sahiwal bull the abnormality that was seen is
depicted in Fig. 2 with corresponding change in the semen from the diseased bull.
Prognosis
The natural power of repair in the seminal vesicle is limited. The secretory
activity of the affected part is lost depending on the severity of damage and fertility
is likely to be affected.
After a long rest, in exceptional cases, symptoms may improve, the semen quality
may become normal but the area affected would become fibrosed and lose its func-
tional activity. There is always a danger for the recurrence of the trouble.
Treatment
For preventing such diseases better sex-hygiene has to be followed at the artificial
insemination centres and at training establishments for bulls. Bulls selected for
artificial insemination work should not be allowed to have natural service on account
of the risk of contracting infection by this practice.
20
SEMINO-VESICULITIS IN A BULL [Vol. XXVII, Part I,
FIG. 1
A schematic picture of the semi-
nal vesicles in Sahiwal bull and
the healthy semen
FIG. 2
Diseased seminal vesicle as seen
in the Sahiwal Bull No. 80/P15
and the semen during acute
illness
March, 1957]
MAHENDRA
PRATAP
JOHARI
21
If curative treatment has to be done and the disease is diagnosed very early,
sulphanilamides may be tried in streptococcal infections. Antibiotics like peni-
cillin or streptomycin may be used either singly or in combination. A daily sub-
cutaneous injection of 5 mg. dihydrostreptomycin sulphate per Kg. body weight in
50 per cent solution in water for 3 days may be tried. According to Williams [1943],
there is no known remedy for established diseases of the testicles, i.e., epididymis,
ampullae of the vase differentia and the seminal vesicles. The only way of safety is
to discard the defective sire.
The Veterinary Officer reported on April 10, 1956 that the semen of the bull
returned to normal, could be preserved for three days and that he did not find any
difference, on palpation, between the right and the left seminal vesicle.
It appears that the bull contacted the disease some time in March/April in the
previous year as it was since then that it was giving abnormal semen. It took him
one year to recover and return to normal.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work was carried out as a part of the Sterility Scheme, Uttar Pradesh, financed
by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the State Government. The
author thanks Shri C. V. G. Choudary, Principal, for his interest and Shri O. S.
Srivastava,Veterinary Officer, for the technical assistance and reporting the case to
the author for investigation.
REFERENCE
Blom, E. and Christensen, N. O. (1947). Skandinaviska Veterinartidskrift SI-43
Birch, R. R. and Gilman, H. L. (1926). Report of the New York State Veterinary College at
Cornell University, 1924-25. Seen in Svensk Veterinartidskrift 1942, 602-630
Gilman, H. L. (1922). Report of the New York State Veterinary College, Cornell University (1921-22)'
S. 68
Jepsen, A. and J. Jorgensen (1938). Untersuchungen uber Brucella infektion in de n
Geschlechtsorganen bei Stieren. Medl. f. Dyrl. 21, p. 49-60, 79-88
Lagerlof, N. (1938). XIIIth Int. Vety. Congress Zurich S. 24
Hedstrom., H. and Hoflund, S. (1942). Svensk Veterinartidskrift, 602-630
Slagsvold, L. (1927). Oksens rolle som smittebaerer og smittespreder ved storfaeets enzootiske abort.
Norsk. vet. tidsskr. Bd. XXIX. S. 60
Thomsen, A. (1936). Bidrag til Belysning av Sporgsmaalet om Parringssmittens Forekomst ved
Kvaegets smitsomme Kastning. Maanedssrr. f. Dyrl. Bd. 48. S. 225
Williams, W. W. and A. Savage (1925). Cornell Vet., 15, 353
———— W. L. (1943) The diseases of the genital organs of domestic animals Ithaca
———— and Bushnell, J. K. (1941). Cornell Vet. 31, 63
56 AR/56.
4
FACTORS AFFECTING GESTATION LENGTH IN HARIANA
CATTLE
By M. L. KOHLI and K. R. SURI, Government Livestock Farm, Hissar, Punjab
(Received for publication on July 30, 1956)
THE knowledge of the length of gestation period is of importance to a cattle bree-
der as it helps him to prepare the prospective dam for calving and subsequent
lactation. It also aids in settling cases of disputed parentage where a cow may
have been bred to two different bulls at different heat periods and the calving date
does not correspond to either service date.
Investigations carried out by different workers reveal the influence of some fac-
tors responsible for the variations in the gestation period. Studies made by Jafar
et al., [1950] in Wisconsin dairy herd, Ragab and Asker [1951] in Egyptian cattle, Jor-
dao et al., [1951] in Brazil cattle, Brakel, Rife and Salisbury [1952] in Ohio dairy
herd Arunachalam et al., [1952] in Bangalore dairy herd indicated that there was a
positive correlation between gestation period and birth weight in cattle. Sex of
the young was found to have an effect on gestation length in different breeds of
cattle as reported by Jafar et al., [1950], Choudhry and Sinha [1951], Lambardt
[1951], Jordao et al., [1951], Burris and Blum [1952] and Lazarus and Anantakrishnan
[1952]. No effect of sex was observed in Egyptian cattle [Ragab and Asker, 1951]
and in Murrah buffaloes [Arunachalam et al., 1952]. Studies on the dairy and the
beef breed of cattle indicated that there was no effect of age of the cow on the gesta-
tion period [Ragab and Asker, 1951; Lambardt, 1951; Burris and Blum, 1952;
Lazarus and Anantakrishnan, 1952]; but Jafar et al., [1950] reported after studying
gestation periods of 202 males and 102 females in Holstein Frisian cattle that the order
of calving had a significant effect in the female calves but not in the males. Choudhry
and Sinha [1951] observed that the gestation period appears to be slightly affected
by the age of the cow at the time of calving. Jafar et al., [1950], Burris and Blum
[1952], Arunachalam et al., [1952] found that the season of calving had no influence
on the gestation period, whereas, Ragab and Askar [1951], Choudhry and Sinha
[1951] and Brakel et al., [1952] reported to the contrary. Ragab and Asker [1951],
Brakel et al., [1952], Wheat and Riggs, [1952] stated that the sire of the calf affects
the duration of pregnancy but others [Burris and Blum, 1952; Arunachalam et al.,
1952] could not establish this fact. Coefficient of correlation between the length
of gestation and the length of dry period were not statistically significant [Lambardt,
1951; Anantakrishnan, 1952]. The correlation between the cow's body weight
and the gestation period was positive but not significant statistically [Ananta-
krishnan et al., 1952].
23
56
AR/56
5
24
GESTATION LENGTH IN HARIANA CATTLE [Vol. XXVII, Part I,
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The data for the study were collected from a herd of Hariana cattle, a ' dual
purpose' breed (milk and draught) belonging to a scheme, financed jointly by the
Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Punjab State during
a period of eight years (1946 to 1953) on 797 parturitions. The foundation stock
was built up of 230 Hariana females which included 150 heifers of nearly the same
age and 80 cows of different ages. All the animals were so selected that they con-
formed to a certain standard of body conformation of the breed. Ten young bulls
(with 4 in reserve) conforming to Hariana breed were selected with a similar criterion.
With a view to have a sufficient variability in the stock, half of the number of these
bulls was purchased from outside, while the others comprising other half was taken
from the farm-bred stock. All the 230 cows and 10 bulls were randomized into ten
groups.
The herd depended on natural grazing for a considerable part of the year. They
were stall fed when grazing was scanty. In the case of milch stock, the grazing
was supplemented by the concentrates according to milk yield. The cattle, generally,
for the most part of the year remained in the open thorny enclosure except during
severe winter nights.
Two vasectomised bulls were kept in the herd to detect the cows in heat and
these were bred by their respective bulls. The gestation periods were calculated
in days from the services resulting into calvings. All cases of abortions and still-
births were excluded from this study. Doubtful cases were not taken into account.
Statistical analysis were made according to the disproportionate class method
of Snedecor [1948] for studying the effects of season, sire and the sequence of calving
on the length of gestation period.
RESULTS
Length of the gestation periods
In order to determine the effect of sex on the length of gestation period, the data
were grouped (Table I) with a class interval of 10 days. It was observed that largest
percentage (44.28) of males was born between an interval of 290-299 and females
(50.00) between 280-289 days after conception. The mean gestation period of
males and females was 291.78±0.87 and 289.68±0.94 days respectively with an
overall average of 290.73±0.91 days (Table II).
March 1957]
M.
L.
KOHLI
AND
K.
R.
SUM
25
TABLE I
Distribution of the length of gestation of Hariana cows
Gestation period
(days)
230—39
240—49
250—59
260—69
270—79
280—89
290—99
300—09
310—19
320—29
330—39
340 and above
TOTAL
Number of calves
Male
1
..
6
4
21
140
182
33
11
8
3
2
411
Female
1
..
4
2
22
193
123
19
12
7
2
1
386
Total
2
..
10
6
43
333
305
52
23
15
5
3
797
Distribution of gestation
period
Male
per cent
0.24
..
1.46
0.97
5.11
34.06
44.28
8.03
2.68
1.90
0.73
0.49
100.00
Female
per cent
0.26
..
1.04
0.51
5.70
50.00
31.87
4.92
3.11
1.81
0.52
0.26
100.00
Total
per cent
0.25
..
1.25
0.75
5.40
41.78
38.27
6.52
2.89
1.88
0.63
0.38
100.00
TABLE II
Mean gestation periods for male and female calves
Male
No. of cases
411
Mean (days)
291.78±0.87
Female
No. of cases
386
Mean (days)
289.68±0.94
Total
No. of cases
797
Mean (days)
290.73±0.91
26
GESTATION LENGTH IN HARIANA CATTLE [Vol. XXVII, Part I,
Effect of sex and sequence of calving
To compare the effects of the order of calving and the sex of the calves on duration
of gestation period, the means were calculated for each calving (Table III). The
analysis of variance (Table IV) was carried out on 793 cases. Records of the last
three lactations, being few, were excluded. It showed that the differences for
sequence of calving and sex were significant.
The results are presented below in bar notation :
Lactation
number
Average gestation
period (days)
9
308.5
6
293.7
3
293.3
5
293.3
2
290.7
8
289.8
7
289.3
1
289.1
4
288.5
11
288.0
10
283.0
TABLE III
Influence of sex and sequence of calving
Lactation
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
TOTAL
Male
No. of
cases
117
97
68
53
46
18
6
4
2
..
..
411
Mean
290.1±1.7
291.2±1.2
293.0±2.3
288.8±1.6
295.5±1.6
299.3±3.9
290.8±1.3
290.3±1.4
308.5±4.9
..
..
..
Female
No. of
cases
120
74
70
60
32
16
8
4
..
1
1
386
Mean
288.1±1.5
289.9±1.7
293.5±1.9
288.3±2.6
289.2±0.6
287.5±2.2
288.1±1.5
289.2±1.6
..
283.0±0.0
288.0±0.0
..
Total
No. of
cases
237
171
138
113
78
34
14
8
2
1
1
797
Mean
289.1±1.3
290.7±1.1
293.3±1.6
288.5±1.5
293.3±0.5
293.3±1.9
289.3±1.0
289.8±1.3
308.5±4.9
283.0±
288.0±
..
TABLE IV
Analysis of variance of gestation periods for sex and calving sequence
Sources of variation
Between lactations
Between sexes
Between sex and lactation interaction
Within
TOTAL
D.F.
7
1
7
777
792
Sum of sq.
2930.5
855.0
1206.2
132102.6
..
Mean s.
418.6
855.0
172.3
170.0
..
F.
2.46*
5.03*
..
..
..
* Significant.
March, 1957]
M.
L.
KOHLI
AND
K.
B.
SUM
27
Effect of the month of calving
The mean gestation periods of calves born according to the month of calving
(Table V) worked out to be the longest for males and females during the month of
October. The number of calvings was more during the months of February, March
and April, thereby indicating that majority of cows conceived at the end of spring
or early summer. Analysis of variance (Table VI) showed that variations between
months and the sex were significant.
The results are presented in bar notation were :—
Month
Average
gesta-
tion period
(days)
Oct.
295.4
Mar.
293.4
May
291.7
April
291.5
Jan.
291.4
Feb.
291.2
Aug.
290.1
Nov.
290.1
Sept.
289.6
July
288.9
June
288.2
Dec.
286.0
TABLE V
Influence of the month of freshening on gestation period
Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
TOTAL
Male
No. of
cases
28
43
61
47
35
39
32
21
31
18
24
32
411
Mean
293.0±2.1
292.9±1.3
294.5±2.8
291.3±1.4
293.2±3.1
289.9±2.6
290.5±1.4
291.9±0.9
288.6±1.7
297.1±3.2
289.8±1.2
287.0±1.9
Female
No. of
cases
52
44
53
40
17
33
34
23
20
20
23
27
386
Mean
290.6±4.3
289.5±1.2
291.7±1.9
291.6±1.8
288.2±2.5
286.2±2.4
287.4±1.2
288.3±0.9
290.9±2.3
293.8±1.8
290.3±1.4
284.8±2.1
Total
No. of
cases
80
87
114
87
52
72
66
44
51
38
47
59
797
Mean
291.4±1.9
291.2±1.0
293.4±1.8
291.5±1.1
291.7±2.1
288.2±2.3
288.9±1.1
290.1±0.8
289.6±1.4
295.4±1.6
290.1±1.1
286.0±1.6
28
GESTATION LENGTH IN HARIANA CATTLE [Vol. XXVII, Part I,
TABLE VI
Analysis of variance of gestation period for month of calving
Source of variation
Between months
Between sex
Between sex and month interaction
Within
TOTAL.
D.F.
11
1
11
773
796
Sum of sq.
3863.3
921.3
1155.8
133642.2
Mean s.
351.1
921.3
105.1
172.8
F.
2.04*
5.36*
0.6
..
* Significant.
Effect of sire of the calf
The mean gestation period for calves as influenced by different sires (Table VII)
varied from 277.8 to 294.3 days and the mean squares for sires were significant
(Table VIII). Bull No. 210H2/46 was not included in the analysis, as it had only
one case.
TABLE VII
Effect of sire of the calf on gestation period
Sire No.
274H 2/39
2HP/44
3HP/44
13HP/44
15HP/44
163H1/40
18HP/46
Male
No. of
cases
10
52
58
33
30
36
14
Mean
278.2±0.8
291.7±0.9
292.6±2.0
290.8±1.9
294.3±2.7
296.8±2.9
292.5±1.5
Female
No. of
cases
9
48
36
57
35
31
17
Mean
276.2±0.8
290.6±0.8
288.8±1.5
285.4±1.6
290.2±1.2
287.3±2.3
295.4±1.3
Total
No. of
cases
19
100
94
90
65
67
31
Mean
277.8±0.6
291.3±0.7
291.2±1.4
288.6±1.3
292.1±1.1
292.4±2.1
294.3±1.1
March, 1957]
M.
L.
KOHLI
AND
K.
R.
SURI
29
TABLE VII (contd.)
Effect of sire of the calf on gestation period
Serial No.
2HP/42
190H1/42
512H4/41
395H2/42
203H1/42
210H2/46
227H1/42
TOTAL
Male
No. of
cases
10
34
50
37
26
1
20
411
Mean
291.9±1.9
291.0±0.9
285.9±2.3
293.9±1.2
288.4±2.8
292.0±0.0
289.0±1.0
Female
No. of
cases
17
35
38
31
17
..
15
386
Mean
290.7±1.4
290.9±1.0
293.1±1.5
289.5±1.1
286.7±2.0
..
291.8±1.0
Total
No. of
cases
27
69
88
68
43
1
35
797
Mean
291.1±1.2
291.0±0.8
291.4±1.4
291.9±1.0
287.8±1.8
292.0±0.0
290.2±0.8
TABLE VIII
Analysis of variance of gestation periods for sires
Source of variations
Between sires
Between sex
Between sex and sire interaction
Within
TOTAL
D.F.
12
1
12
770
795
Sum of sq.
4971.2
996.4
3104.9
121854.3
Mean s.
414.3
996.4
258.7
158.3
F.
2.59†
6.23*
*Significant
†Highly significant
Influence of body weight and dry period on gestation
The body weights of majority of the cows were recorded within 24 hours after
calving and the preceding gestation periods of these cows for different lactations
were studied (Table IX). It was observed that in general with the increase in
live-weight of the animal the gestation period prolonged.
30
GESTATION LENGTH IN HARIANA CATTLE [Vol. XXVII, Part I,
The dry period for each animal in different lactations and its corresponding
gestation period was also studied but it did not show any definite trend.
TABLE IX
Length of gestation period, body weight and dry period
Gestation period (days)
230—39
240—49
250—59
260—69
270—79
280—89
290—99
300—09
310—19
320—29
330—39
340 and above
TOTAL
Weighted mean
No. of
cases
..
..
7
5
30
253
251
39
17
14
2
3
621
Av. body wt.
(lb.)
..
..
703.1±12.3
674.4± 8.6
706.3± 6.3
707.2± 5.8
723.4±13.4
735.7±12.3
740.7± 9.5
747.4± 7.6
771.5±14.4
738.3± 4.6
717.4
No. of
records
2
..
3
3
27
185
168
35
15
9
4
4
455
Average dry.
period (days)
310.0±20.7
..
169.0±7.4
228.0±11.3
278.7.±14.5
262.1±13.4
277.7±13.7
259.1±12.4
290.3±15.0
205.7±117
188.5± 8.7
366.0±17.3
267.9
Relationship of birth weight, dry period, body weight of the dam with gestation
period
The correlation coefficient of gestation length and birth weight was low (0.13)
but significant, between body weight and gestation period was also significant
(0.14) while for dry period it was not significant.