Obstetrical Anatomy of female animal

1. Obstetrical Anatomy of Female
By, Dr SHAZI NOSH

2. Obstetrics
 The word obstetrics was first used in human
surgery and derived from the Latin word
‘obstari’ means to stand before or to
withstand.
 At present obstetrics is considered to be that
branch of surgery, which deals with
management of pregnancy and labor or
before during and after parturition.
 It is also called the art of delivery of young
and study of the abnormalities associated
with pregnancy and parturition.

3. Pelvis
 Pelvic cavity is the posterior-most of the three large
body cavities.
 It is bilaterally symmetrical and almost horizontal in
domestic animals.
 Bony and ligamentous pelvis serves to contain,
sustain and protect the urogenital system and the
end part of digestive tract.
 It also gives support for attachment of many
muscles.
 It serves as a channel of pelvic cavity to the outside
through which the fetus has to pass at the time of
parturition.
 It is located at the end of vertebral column,
supported by two hind legs

4. Pelvic

5. Anatomy of pelvis (in cattle)
 Sacrum is formed by fusion of five vertebrae.
 In older cow, horse and pig, the first coccygeal
vertebra may fused with sacrum
 Ilium is largest portion of os coxae.
 It triangular above, thick and prismatic below.
 The upper part is flat, known as ‘wing’ and the
distal part is narrow, considered as ‘shaft’.
 It is nearly vertical so that two shaft of ilia are
almost parallel.

6. Cont…
 Ischium next in size of Ilium, ischium
forms the posterior part of the pelvic floor.
 It is thin, quadrilateral and curved.
 Pelvic surface of ischium is smooth and
concave from side to side and from before
backward in form of basin.
 Pelvic symphysis is formed by the medial
fusion of ischial and pubic bone.

7. Cont…
 Pubis is the smaller of three segments of hip
bone and forms the anterior portion of the floor
of pelvis.
 It is wide and triangular in shape.
 Pelvis surface of pubis is smooth and concave in
females animals.
 Ventral surface is rough and presents a large sub-
pubis groove which does not extend up to the
acetabulum.
 Acetabulum formed by the fusion of Ilium,
ischium and pubis.
 These bones form a cotyloid cavity for lodging
the head of the femur

8. Pelvic ligaments
 Form the non-bony part of the pelvis.
 To maintain the relationship of the pelvis
to spinal column, there are three, single or
paired, pelvic ligaments.
 Dorsal and lateral sacroiliac ligaments
attached to the medial wing of the Ilium
and lateral portion of the sacrum and the
summits of the sacral spines

9. Cont…
. Sacrosciatic ligaments
 an extensive quadrilateral ligamentous sheet
that completes the lateral wall of the pelvic
cavity
 Extends from the lateral border of the sacrum
and the transverse process of the first
coccygeal vertebrae to the ischiatic spine and
tuber ischii.
 Provides attachment for large gluteal muscles
and the vulva.
 In dog, this ligaments is referred to as sacro-
tuberous ligaments

10. Cont…
 Prepubic tendon is essentially the tendon
of insertion of rectiabdominis muscles
and other, except the transverse
abdominis muscles.
 It is attached strongly to the cranial
medial border of pubis bones

11. Pelvimetry
 It is a branch of obstetrics, which deal with
the diameters of pelvis.
 The study of pelvimetry is warranted in the
day of selective breeding and cross breeding
since the relationship between various
diameters allow one to form an idea of shape,
size, position of pelvis and canal.
 It helps in culling undesired type of animals
with narrow defective pelvis.

12. Instrumentation
 Instruments are commercially available to
veterinarians for taking pelvic measurements:
 the Rice pelvimeter, the Bovine (Krautmann-
Litton) pelvic meter.
 All are designed to take internal pelvic
measurements via the rectum of the cow or
heifer.
 The Rice pelvimeter is a metal caliper-type
instrument. One end is placed on known internal
pelvic structures per rectum, and the resultant
pelvic diameter is read on a scale on the opposite
end.

13. Pelvimeter

14. Vertical and Horizantal measurments
are obtained to determine pelvic area

20. Pelvimetry in living animals may
be carried out in two ways:
 External pelvimetry
 Internal pelvimetry

21. External pelvimetry
 Following external pelvic measurements are
taken
A: Distance between the external angle of ilium
B: Distance between ischial tubersity
C: Distance between the summit of croup and
the hip joint

25. Internal pelvimetry

26. Using Pelvic Measurement to Estimate
Deliverable Calf Size (Birth weight)

29. Cont…

30. Calving Difficulty
 Calving difficulty results in major economic
loss to the beef cattle industry.
 Estimated losses resulting from dystocia
(calving difficulty) equal or exceed $750
million annually.
 Calving difficulty influences the economics of
a cow/calf enterprise through increased calf
death loss, increased labor and veterinary costs,
reduced subsequent reproductive performance
of the cow, potential loss of the cow, and
reduced milk production.

31. Calf mortality
 Calf mortality may be four to eight times
greater in dystocia cases than in normal births.
 The majority of calf deaths occur within the
first 24 hours following calving (58 percent),
with 75 percent of the total occurring within the
first week of life.
 Studies indicate that calf death loss due to
dystocia accounts for the single largest peri-
and postnatal death loss category through the
first 96 hours after birth.

32. References
1. Text book of veterinary Gynaecology ,Artificial
insenination,Obstetrics and Assisted Reproduction
2. Page no: 02-19
3. Daly, Russell F. and Riese, Richard L. (1992) "Pelvic
Measurements: Applications in Beef Cattle Practice Today," Iowa
State University
4. L.H. Anderson, Ph.D., and K.D. Bullock, Ph.D., Department of
Animal Sciences, Extension Beef Specialists
5. Gene H. Deutscher, Extension Beef Specialist, University of
Nebraska

33. Thank You So Much