Early pregnancy diagnosis in ruminants, especially in high production herds, is one of the most important components of reproduction management. Reducing the time between insemination and the exclusion or confirmation of pregnancy is of major economic importance. That is why the traditional method of pregnancy examination by transrectal palpation is increasingly complemented by additional tests, such as ultrasonography. An alternative to these methods of pregnancy diagnosis are also simple field tests. The best known are tests for progesterone and estrone sulphate concentrations. Over the last few years, the measuring of pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) has also been gaining popularity. In cattle, this method can be used as early as the 28th day of pregnancy, when the plasma concentration of PAGs exceeds 1ng / ml. Maximum values of pregnancy-associated glycoproteins are observed about day 240 after fertilization. After calving, their level quickly decreases. In sheep, the concentration of PAGs increases significantly in the 3rd and 4th weeks of gestation and reaches its maximum level around the 9th week. In goats, the concentration of PAGs differs between races, but its measurement can be quite a reliable indirect method of pregnancy diagnosis. The PAGs value in this species grows until about the 8th week after insemination and, depending on the breed, reaches a maximum value of 50 to 69 ng/ml. One limitation for the use of PAGs field tests may be false positives which occur after the death of the embryo. Similarly, an increased PAGs concentration can persists for up to about 70 days after calving. Moreover, the PAGs concentration is also affected by the health, age and milk production of the female. The advantages of field tests are the simplicity of performance, the ease of reading and interpreting the results and the short time needed to complete the entire procedure. Field tests based on the commonly used ELISA method are characterized by low invasiveness (blood, milk), combined with high sensitivity and specificity. Their rapid application under field conditions makes them an excellent extension of diagnostic capabilities, especially in large herds of cows, .

SummaryBackground. Diseases of the uterus are one of the main factors limiting cow's fertility. The subclinical endometritis (endometritis subclinica) is a particular problem among different forms of post-partal metritis in this species because of its complicated diagnosing. In order to enhance the efficiency of uterus diseases diagnostics, different methods (such as cytology) are being applied. However, taking material for cytological examination is invasive and poses the risk of damage, especially while moving the brush inwards through the cervical canal. The purpose of our study was to test the invasiveness of the method in which commonly applied, sharp-edge cytological brushes are used compared with the invasiveness of the modified method in which the edge of the brush is round (covered with an insemination cover). Material and methods. Material for the cytological examination was taken using both of the quoted methods from 60 cows which were proven to be free from endometritis. The cytological material was transferred to glass slides through rolling. The smears were fixed with Cytofix, stained with RapidHem and closely examined. The average erythrocyte and epithelial cell count in 50 fields of view at 100X magnification as well as the percentage of desquamated epithelial fragments (10 cells or more) were specified. The evaluation was conducted in three swab zones corresponding with the peak of the brush (zone I), its middle section (zone II) and its basal part (zone III). Results and conclusions. A comparison of the results of the cytological examination using both methods (sharp-edge and insemination cover) indicated that the number of erythrocytes and the percentage of desquamated epithelial fragments in zone I is an accurate way of determining the invasiveness of the procedure. While using the insemination cover does not entirely eliminate trauma to the epithelium of the cervix, it does reduce the amount of desquamated epithelial fragHerudzińska, M., Kierbić, A., Kmiecik, J., Gehrke, M., Jaśkowski, J. M. (2016). The usage of insemination casing in collecting the cytological material from the cow's uterus in order to reduce the method's invasiveness. Nauka Przyr. Technol., 10, 4, #55. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17306/J. NPT.2016.4.55 2 ments. Therefore, it is less invasive. The low erythrocyte count in smears collected with the use of a brush covered with an insemination cover indicates that this type of safety measure ensures protection from a serious trauma.