Laparoscopic exposure and sequential observation of the ovary of the cycling bitch.
A method was developed to alter surgically the bursa of the bitch to allow sequential observation of the ovary by means of laparoscopy. Adult anesthetized female dogs of three breeds underwent laparoscopic examinations in which each natural bursa slit was lengthened 1.0-1.5 cm using laparoscopic hook scissors in conjunction with electrocautery. The ovary could be effectively and repeatedly exposed for laparoscopic viewing through the lengthened bursa slit. Neither laparoscopic surgery nor frequent routine laparoscopic examinations of the reproductive organs had an effect on subsequent ovarian activity. All dogs subjected to the laparoscopic ovarian exposure technique exhibited estrus behavior, follicle development, ovulation and corpus luteum formation. Preovulatory follicular development was detected as early as 11 days before ovulation with the most rapid follicular maturation occurring two to three days before ovulation. Follicular collapse and extensive hemorrhage at the rupture site during ovulation did not occur. Release of the cumulus mass from a vesicular follicle was observed in one bitch. The cumulative mass adhered to the follicular wall for an indefinite time following ovulation. The structural size of the bitch corpus luteum was maximal four to eight days following ovulation. Corpora lutea remained visible on the ovarian surface for 16 weeks. No differences in cyclic ovarian morphology were observed among the three breeds of dogs studied.