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Biomedical subjects

P D Carter

Publications and source records attributed to P D Carter.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Electroejaculation in goats.

A comparison was made of a sine-wave and a pulse-wave electroejaculator for the collection of semen from male goats. Six animals were ejaculated once, using one or other instrument and 8 were ejaculated with each device with an intervening rest period. Comparing the sine-wave with the pulse-wave equipment, the mean total number of sperm collected was 5.3 x 10(9) and 2.1 x 10(9) cells respectively, in the first experiment and 4.0 x 10(9) and 1.0 x 10(9) cells, respectively, in the second experiment. In the latter experiment, a significant difference (p less than 0.05) was found in the sperm concentration, which was higher with the sine-wave generator. This instrument, with controlled output, was considered less stressful to the animal.

Animals

Electrical safety for the veterinary surgeon.

In human medicine, protection of the patient has demanded stringent safety precautions that have not been applied in the veterinary field. There is a hazard to the operator from the increasing use of electrical equipment in veterinary medicine, often in an environment where conducting floors and other items can carry fault currents through a human or animal body. The source of these currents may be equipment that has developed faults due to disconnected earth leads and breakdown of insulation so that the case or leads from the equipment become live. Currents exceeding 10 mA passing through the body may cause death from ventricular fibrillation. Protection from accident may be provided by circuit breakers that sense fault currents and disconnect the power, and by taking precautions to correctly maintain electrical fittings.

Accident Prevention

Control of reproductive function of cattle using cloprostenol.

Two intramuscular injections of cloprostenol were given 12 days apart to synchronise oestrus in a group of 47 heifers and following the second injection, 38 were found in oestrus in 2 to 6 days, 1 in 11 days and 8 in 22 to 27 days. The conception rate of the synchronised animals was 24 of 38 (63%). Twenty-nine heifers were given injections of cloprostenol in late pregnancy and parturition was induced with a latent period of 6 +/- 3 days when injected at 266 to 267 days. When injected at 254 to 262 days, 3 of 16 heifers (19%) were unresponsive and the remainder calved with a latent period of 12 +/- 6 days. The survival rate of calves from induced heifers was 71% with 80% survival from controls. Approximately 50% of the induced heifers, and none of the controls, retained their foetal membranes.

Animals