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Biomedical subjects

A E Wrathall

Publications and source records attributed to A E Wrathall.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Pregnancy diagnosis in sows based on serum oestrone sulphate concentration.

Serum oestrone sulphate concentration was measured in samples taken from 1275 sows of four breeds or crossbreeds (large white, landrace, large white cross landrace and monarch hybrid) during the period 25 to 30 days after mating. A simple, direct radioimmunoassay using 20 microliter serum was employed for the estimation of oestrone sulphate and pregnancy diagnoses were made on the basis that more than 0.5 ng oestrone sulphate/ml serum indicated a pregnant sow and less than 0.5 ng/ml indicated non-pregnancy. Overall accuracy of pregnancy diagnosis based on oestrone sulphate was 98 per cent; this was not influenced by breed or day sampled (within the range tested). For pregnant sows, there was a positive correlation between serum oestrone sulphate level and litter size, although individual values could not be used to predict litter size for particular sows. Oestrone sulphate concentration was also measured in samples taken from pregnant monarch sows during the last third of the gestation period and the level was more than 0.5 ng/ml in 99 per cent of samples taken on day 77 or later. Thus, measurement of serum oestrone sulphate level in samples taken more than 76 days after mating could be used as a confirmatory test of pregnancy.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Estimation of oestrone sulphate in the serum of pregnant sows.

Oestrone sulphate was extracted from pig serum with tetrahydrofuran and then hydrolysed with sulphatase. The radioimmunoassay of liberated oestrone was carried out directly on the reaction mixture. Oestrone sulphate concentrations were less than 60 pg/ml in non-pregnant sows. Detectable concentrations of oestrone sulphate were found in serum as early as the 18th day of gestation, and these rose to maximum levels of 2.1-3.5 ng/ml by Days 26-29 then fell to about 0.1 ng/ml by Day 37. Serum oestrone sulphate concentrations were not related to litter size, but were good indicators of early pregnancy.

Androstenedione↗
PubMed1977

Reproductive failure in the pig: diagnosis and control.

An approach to reproductive failure in pigs, based on the regular collection and analysis of performance records is proposed. Inovlvement at this level gives veterinary surgeons familiarity with herd mangement and economics. The use of control charts to monitor performance is also advocated for detecting problems as they arise. When failure occurs, a stage-by-stage clinical investigation of the whole breeding programme is advisable. Post mortem studies may also be useful in detecting specific pathological changes. Diagnostic tests should only be used to confirm diagnoses. Having established the source and extent of the failure, and its likely cost, if uncorrected, appropriate measures can be considered. Three principal methods of control are discussed.

Abortion, Veterinary↗
PubMed1977

Barker (neonatal respiratory distress) syndrome in the pig: the ultrastructural pathology of the lung.

The ultrastructural pathology of the lung of a naturally occurring, fatal respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn piglet is described. The pulmonary lesions are characterised by immaturity of the distal airways and of alveoli; by severe alveolar epithelial hyperplasia and hypertrophy; by increased width of the blood to air barrier; by alveolar and bronchiolar epithelial degeneration and separation; by the production of alveolar and bronchiolar hyaline membranes and by alveolar haemorrhage and alveolar and peribronchial oedema. Many of the hyperplastic cells of the alveolar epithelium are pyramidal, rest on a basement membrane, have microvilli on their luminal surfaces, form tight junctions with their neighbours and contain reduced numbers of lamellated electron-dense inclusion in the cytoplasm. These cells are dystrophic type 2 pneumocytes. Other hyperplastic alveolar epithelial cells have some of these features and may be type 1 or type 2 pneumocytes. Both types contain large amounts of cytoplasmic carbohydrate material and are deficient in lamellated inclusions associated with type 2 pneumocytes of normal piglets. Increase in the thickness of the blood to air barrier from 0-22 micron to 0-55 micron in normal to 0-50 micron to 2-33 micron in moderately affected piglets, or to a maximum of 12 micron in severely affected piglets, was associated with increasing respiratory distress. Hyaline membranes were composed of epithelial cellular debris from saccular and bronchiolar epithelium. The reduction in size and number of the specific lamellated cytoplasmic inclusions of type 2 pneumocytes in affected lungs was correlated with biochemical findings of increased surface tension and reduced phospholip and lecithin contents of lung washings.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

The "barker" (neonatal respiratory distress) syndrome in the pig: its occurrence in the field.

A new syndrome, characterised by acute respiratory distress and by abnormalities of the skin, hair and thyroid, was the apparent cause of neonatal death in 35 (24 per cent) of 146 piglets sired by a large white boar in four small commercial pig units. The syndrome appears to be of genetic origin, inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. Its similarities with the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) of the newborn infant and the "barker" syndrome of the newborn foal are discussed.

Animals↗