No abstract

Two mixed-breed bitches (18 and 19 months), that had been treated, one year before, with deslorelin acetate implant to postpone puberty, were hospitalized and monitored during their first heat. The heat was presumed by the owners, that observed vulvar swelling in both cases but no vulvar bloody discharge. The following diagnostic procedures were employed: physical genital tract examination, vaginoscopy, vaginal cytology, endocrine assay, ultrasound and X-ray using vaginal infusion of iodum and pneumobladder as positive and negative contrasts. In bitch 1, vaginal cytology and progesterone levels confirmed the presence of an ovulatory “dry” oestrus, without cytological presence of red blood cells, progressing to dioestrus. Ultrasound showed preovulatory follicles and, in the following days, transition to corpora lutea. The caudal abdomen presented a large ovoid cystic structure filled with echoic fluid, next to the bladder. Radiographic scans demonstrated a normal bladder profile, while the contrast medium failed to enter into the cranial vagina. On the basis of these findings, the bitch 1 was submitted to laparotomy 10 days after the end of oestrus. A vaginal dilatation (10x5 cm), from which brown fluid was aspirated, was found and resected together with uterus and ovaries. Bitch 2 had the same diagnostic route and findings, but she was laparotomized 3 months after the heat. During this period no spontaneous regression of the lesion was observed. At laparotomy, the vaginal dilatation (8x4 cm) was only aspirated and the bitch regularly neutered. In both cases, cytology of the fluid taken from the vaginal sac revealed superficial epithelial cells and abundant degenerate red blood cells. Histology (bitch 1) confirmed the vaginal origin of the dilatation and revealed an additional Gärtner duct cyst. The abnormality (hematocolpus) probably originated by an inadequate drainage of proestrous bloody discharge because of a severe vaginal stenosis. A congenital origin of the lesion was unlikely; it was strongly suspected that the treatment of the prepubertal bitches interfered, by an irreversible way, with the normal development of the vagina.

Congenital abnormalities of the uterus and the cervix are rare in horses, often associated with infertility, despite normal ovarian activity and sexual behaviour. An abnormality of the cervix in a 5-year-old jennet with a history of infertility was described. Clinical and ultrasound examination of the genital tract showed a normal development of the uterus with regular cyclic activity in both the ovaries. Vaginoscopy revealed a normal development of the vagina and a cervix deviated on the left side of the vagina by a thick dorsoventral fold. The lateral deviation was permanent in any stage of oestrus cycle. Furthermore, the cervical os was narrow and digital penetration was not realizable. Using a 5-mm catheter, the full penetration was not possible even during oestrus; moreover, the inoculation of fluid could be revealed in uterus by ultrasound (fluid was not present before inoculation), demonstrating a minimal patency. An abnormal and permanent lateral displacement of a stenotic cervix was suspected as the primary cause of infertility in the jennet.

No abstract

Coralligenous reefs are the main biogenic constructions of the Mediterranean Sea. The two main coralligenous morphologies are cliffs and platforms. Coralligenous cliffs mostly develop in shallower waters (about 20-50 m) on vertical/sub vertical rocky substrates. Coralligenous platforms are mostly distributed on horizontal substrates below 40-50 m depth on detritic bottoms and rocky outcrops of the continental shelf. The present study aims at contributing to the knowledge of coralligenous cliffs through the assessment of their distribution and extent in a wide geographic zone of northwestern Mediterranean Sea, focusing on the structure and the spatial variability of the associated assemblages. To achieve these objectives, coralligenous cliffs of Tuscany coasts were mapped through Multibeam and Remotely Operated Vehicles. The area of coralligenous cliffs was also manually calculated for each study site using linear extent and bathymetric range of the habitat. In addition, the structure of the associated assemblages was investigated by a multifactorial sampling design taking into account spatial scales ranging from meters to tens of kilometres. Coralligenous cliffs were present in all the study sites, with a linear extent of about 20% of Tuscany’s rocky coastline and an area of about 20% of the Tuscan coralligenous reefs. The difference between data manually calculated and those obtained by Quantum- GIS software was about 33% of the total area. A continental-to-island gradient and a latitudinal gradient were the main factors driving the structure of the associated assemblages. Results highlighted that coralligenous cliffs represent a considerable part of circalittoral biogenic habitat, suggesting that their relevance may be greater than what normally emerges from seabed mapping and that they should be considered separately in monitoring programs, impact assessment studies and management plans.