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This study investigated the prediction of parturition in queens, as well as the effects of the queens' age and weight and the litter size on the accuracy of the prediction. A prospective study was performed in 24 purebred queens of 11 different breeds, all in normal body condition, using radiographic and ultrasonographic measurements of foetal femoral length (FL) and biparietal diameter (BPD) of fœtal skull that apply to different breeds. Pregnant queens with aborted or malformed foetuses were excluded. The examinations were performed up to three times during the second half of pregnancy; litter size was obtained with radiography, and FL and BPD measurements were taken of each foetus using both radiography and ultrasonography. The maximal FL and the transversal BPD were recorded for each foetus. Radiography showed the number of foetuses accurately but did not allow accurate prediction of time of parturition. However, ultrasonography did establish the best predictive model according to the data with the FL. This model corresponded to the formula Y = 37.864 - 0.193 × FL + 1.227 × W - 0.615 × LS - 0.832 × A using the FL (10(-1)  mm), litter size (LS, number of foetuses per queen) and maternal parameters (weight (W, kg) and age (A, years)). Time to parturition correlated positively with the queen's weight and negatively with her age (P < 0.01). The ultrasonographic FL associated with pregnancy and maternal factors appeared to be an accurate model to predict parturition.

In this case report, the diagnosis and ultrasound-guided retrieval of an intravaginal grass awn in a dog and a cat are described. The dog was presented with chronic vaginal discharge for over two years. The cat was presented for acute lethargy and bloody vaginal discharge and a two-week history of a perivulvar leakage. Ultrasonographic diagnosis included the visualization of a linear, hyperechoic and spindle-shaped structure and mild thickness of the vagina. The grass awns were successfully retrieved non-invasively, under general anesthesia using ultrasoundguided Hartmann forceps inserted into the vagina. Ultrasound-guided grass awn retrieval from the vagina appears to be a safe and inexpensive procedure.

Numerous locations have been reported for vegetal foreign body migration. However, urogenital migration has rarely been documented. In this retrospective study, the ultrasonographic features associated with intrauterine migrating vegetal foreign bodies (grass seeds) are described in one intact and ten ovariectomized bitches. The most common ultrasonographic finding was focal and mild ampullary dilation of the uterus, containing the foreign body outlined by scant intraluminal fluid. There were no changes seen to the uterine wall, except in one dog with uterine perforation, confirmed at surgery. The remainder of the uterus had a normal appearance in 8/11 dogs, while there was a small amount of intraluminal fluid in 2/11 cases. Mild, focal steatitis around the focal dilation of the uterus segment containing the foreign body was observed in one case. The subtlety of these findings suggests that the ultrasonographic diagnosis of uterine grass awns can be challenging. This underlines a discrepancy with other reported migration sites commonly associated with marked inflammation.