Applicability of fetal thoracic aortic diameter measurement in the prediction of birth weight in Holstein-Friesian cows — Short communication

Abstract

Transabdominal ultrasonography has been shown to be a useful and reliable method for assessing fetal well-being in horses and cattle. To test the applicability of fetal aortic diameter measurement in cattle, 44 late-term pregnant cows and heifers were examined 21 to 0 days prior to calving. Mean fetal aortic diameter was 2.07 ± 0.14 cm and mean fetal heart rate (FHR) was 109 ± 17 bpm. Three dead calves were dissected and their aortic diameter was measured in a water bath. The mean birth weight (n = 44) was 39.9 ± 5.8 kg. There was a significant negative correlation between FHR and fetal aortic diameter. However, although some studies have shown that fetal aortic diameter strongly correlates with birth weight in near-term horses and cattle, in this study there was no correlation between fetal aortic diameter and birth weight in Holstein-Friesian cows and heifers irrespective of whether the fetus was born alive or dead.Key words: Fetal well-being, ultrasonography, aortic diameter, cattle Despite the availability of improved techniques in the dairy industry, perinatal mortality and morbidity is still high in cattle, and the need for techniques suitable for monitoring fetal well-being is still growing (Kornmatitsuk et al., 2002). To investigate and decrease perinatal losses, the first step is to develop techniques suitable for evaluating fetal well-being under farm conditions. In human obstetrics, non-invasive transabdominal ultrasonography has been used for assessing fetal health status for almost forty years. From the 1980s, there were also attempts to develop antepartum assessment methods in veterinary medicine (Adams-Brendemuehl and Pipers, 1987;Reef et al., 1995Reef et al., , 1996. Reef's methodology has been used as a gold standard for late-term ultrasonographic examinations in horses and other species of domestic animals (Reef et al., 1995(Reef et al., , 1996.

The morphological investigations on the heart and some vessels of bovine foetus between the 15th and 25th weeks of gestation

“…Vincze et al [40] measured the aortic diameter as 2.07 ± 0.14 cm by transabdominal ultrasonography and they found that there was a statistically significantly negative correlation (r = -0.41, p = 0.012) between the foetal heart weight and the foetal aortic diameter in 44 cattle foetuses in the late period of pregnancy. In the study conducted, it was determined that there was a statistically significantly positive correlation (r = 0.801, p < 0.01) between the foetal heart weight and the foetal aortic diameter in cattle foetuses.…”