Use of Ultrasound in the Reproductive Management of Dairy Cattle

Abstract

The significant decrease in fertility observed in dairy cattle during the last few decades and increasing requirements by the farmers have made a regular control of reproduction indispensable to urgently identify and solve potential problems affecting reproductive efficiency. Traditionally, the main diagnostic methods used for reproductive control in cattle included rectal palpation, inspection of vaginal discharge and vaginoscopy. Since the 1990 s, the use of ultrasound (US) has become a common diagnostic method as a result of the new advances made in the development of US scans: smaller size, high level of autonomy, high image quality and accessible prices. Ultrasound improves accuracy in the diagnoses of stages of the oestrous cycle, ovarian and uterine pathologies, and pregnancy diagnosis. In addition, it facilitates the diagnosis of alterations during pregnancy (embryo mortality, foetal malformations, etc.) and helps determining foetal sex from day 55 of pregnancy.

Involución uterina en vacas Holstein en la provincia El Carchi, Ecuador

“…Otra tecnología para evaluar el sistema reproductor durante el período de la involución uterina y el reinicio de la actividad ovárica posparto es la ultrasonografía (3,4).…”

“…Another technology to evaluate the reproductive system during the period of uterine involution and the resumption of postpartum ovarian activity is ultrasonography (3,4).…”

Establishment of fetal age equations based on ultrasound measurements in cross-bred Holstein cows

“…However, this method is reliable earliest after 45 d post-breeding and criticized to be invasive [2,3]. Nowadays, ultrasound has been widely used for cattle reproduction and provided the practitioners a way to gather more information than via rectal palpation [4][5][6][7]. One of the main advantages of using ultrasound is early detection of pregnancy, usually after 27 d post-breeding [6,8,9].…”

Review on diagnostic approach of ultrasound in Veterinary practice

“…Since the 1990s, the use of ultrasound (US) has become a common diagnostic method as a result of the new advances made in the development of US scans: smaller size, high level of autonomy, high image quality and accessible prices. The development and improvement in different diagnostic imaging modalities particularly US, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging e.t.c leading to earlier and more accurate diagnoses of disease using noninvasive techniques (Quintela et al 2012). …”