This document summarizes four common artificial insemination techniques: 1) Recto-vaginal insemination involves inserting an insemination gun through the rectum and vagina of cattle to deposit semen. 2) Vaginal insemination involves inserting a catheter through the vagina of various animal species (sheep, dogs, etc.) to deposit semen near the cervix. 3) Transcervical insemination uses an endoscope to pass a catheter through the cervix of dogs to deposit semen directly into the uterus. 4) Surgical intra-uterine insemination requires general anesthesia and surgery to exteriorize the uterus of dogs before injecting semen

1. Report on AI
techniques
Made by /
khaled Mohamed Ahmed sabry
/Under supervision of
theriogenology department

2. Techniques of AI are variable and
develop from time to time .
these are some of the most common:
1- The recto-vaginal technique
2- The vaginal technique
3- The Transcervical Insemination
4- Surgical Intra-uterine Insemination

3. 1- The recto-vaginal technique:
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*The most commonly used method to artificially inseminate cattle.
*The basic skills required to perform this technique can be obtained with about
three days practice under professional instruction and supervision.
*Additional proficiency and confidence will be achieved with further
work on your own.
Steps:
The first step in the insemination process is to restrain the
animal to be inseminated. There are several things to keep in
mind when choosing a location for inseminating cattle
including:
• Safety of both the animal and the inseminator.
• Ease of use.
• Shelter from adverse weather.
Regardless of whether you are left or right handed, it is recommended
that you use your left hand in the rectum to manipulate
the reproductive tract and the right hand to manipulate the
insemination gun. This is because the rumen or stomach of the
cow lies on the left side of the abdominal cavity, displacing the
reproductive tract slightly to the right. Thus, you will find it
much easier to locate and manipulate the tract with your left as
opposed to right hand.
Raise the tail with your right hand and gently
massage the rectum with the lubricated glove on your left hand.
Place the tail on the back side of your left forearm so it will not
interfere with the insemination process. Cup your fingers together
in a pointed fashion and insert your hand in the rectum, up to
the wrist.
Gently wipe the vulva with a paper towel to remove excess
manure and debris. Be careful not to apply excessive pressure,
which may smear or push manure into the vulva and vagina.
With your left hand make a fist and press down directly on top of

4. the vulva. This will spread the vulva lips allowing clear access
to insert the gun tip several inches into the vagina before contacting
the vaginal walls.
Insert the gun at a 30º upward angle to avoid entering the urethral opening and
bladder located on the floor of the vagina.
With the gun about 6 to 8 inches inside the vagina, raise the rear of the gun to a
somewhat level position and slide it forward until it contacts the external portion
of the cervix.
You will note a distinct gristly sensation on the gun when it contacts the end
of the cervix.
At this point it is important for you to understand that inseminating a cow is a
twostep
process. The first step is to get the gun tip to the cervix. To accomplish this you
must work the vagina and cervix
forward, away from you to straighten
the vaginal folds. If you do not
feel the gristly sensation of the cervix
on the gun, you are still in step
one of the process.
Once the gun is in contact with
the external surface of the cervix
you are ready to begin step 2.
In step 2, you place the cervix on or
over the insemination gun
The key to mastering step 2 of the insemination process is to know how to hold
and
manipulate the cervix and concentrating on doing the work with the hand inside
the cow, not the one holding the gun.
Grasp the external opening to the cervix
with the thumb on top and forefingers underneath.
Use your palm and these two fingers to guide the gun tip to the cervical
opening located between your thumb and forefingers.
Maintain gentle but steady
forward pressure on the gun and slide your thumb and forefingers just in front
of the gun tip and re-grasp the cervix.
Using the flexibility of your wrist, twist and
bend the cervix until you feel the second ring slide over the gun tip.
Pull back on the gun until you feel the tip directly underneath your finger near
the
internal opening of the cervix.
Raise your finger and slowly deposit the semen.
Push the plunger slowly so that drops of semen fall
directly into the uterine body.
When the insemination gun is more than 1” through the cervix, all the semen

5. will be deposited in only one horn.
Be sure to raise your finger after checking gun placement
Make sure you push in with the plunger and do not pull back on the gun.
If the cervical mucous of a cow which has been
previously inseminated feels thick and sticky on the gun, she may be pregnant.
In this case deposit the semen about halfway through the cervix.
Scarsdale Farm and Equine .Markeaton Lane""
The external reproductive tract will be checked, in some cases the mare’s
conformation may indicate that she will need stitches after insemination
(Caslick’s procedure), to minimise contamination of the uterus and maximise her
chances of becoming pregnant. A speculum examination of the vagina and cervix
will be carried out and an ultrasound assessment of the uterus and ovaries.
Veterinary input with artificial insemination is greater due to the need to
inseminate the mare close to the time of ovulation, in order to get the greatest
success rate. Ovulation in the mare generally occurs approximately twenty four
hours before the end of the season. The mare can be in season from three to eight
days, therefore ultrasound scanning of the ovaries and uterus daily during the
season is necessary to identify the optimum time for insemination. Once the
mare has produced a follicle on the ovary of a particular size, she will usually be
given a hormone to control when she will ovulate. Fresh, chilled and frozen
semen is available. Highest pregnancy rates are generally achieved using fresh
and chilled semen. After insemination the mare will be scanned in six to twelve
hours. This is to ensure that the mare has ovulated (the egg has been released),
and to check for the presence of post insemination fluid in the uterus.
Often older maiden (have not previously had a foal) mares are harder to get in
foal, also older mares in general, as they have a tendency to develop a post
insemination uterine infection after natural covering or artificial insemination.
Due to the high level of veterinary attention after artificial insemination, it is
possible to identify this problem and with prompt treatment (with uterine
flushing and hormone treatment) it is possible to improve conception rates in
these mares using artificial insemination techniques.
Following insemination the mare will have her first pregnancy scan between
fourteen and sixteen days. This allows early identification of whether she is
pregnant and also gives the best chance of identifying and dealing with any twin
pregnancies. Further pregnancy scans will be carried out to check that the
pregnancy is developing normally and the foetal heart beat can be seen.

6. 2- The vaginal technique:
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Ewes
Ewes must be individually identified by ear tag or other permanent
marking prior to use in a school.
Only mature, in oestrus, ewes may be used. Animals under 15 months of
age or undersized animals should not be used. They do not need to have
had a lamb but should be sexually mature. Ewes must be in good body
condition and good general health as assessed by a competent
Veterinarian.
Only non-pregnant ewes should be used. An accurate history of NO
mixing with rams must be available, or ewes must be pregnancy tested
prior to the commencement of instruction. Ewes showing vaginal
discharge (other than oestrus discharge) should not be used. The oestrus
status of ewes used for instruction is significant. More successful
penetration of the cervix is possible in oestrus ewes.
The ewes must be restrained as per current industry standards, with hind
legs over a rail of suitable height to prevent lateral or forward movement,
Mature, sexually active rams should be used. Rams must be in good body
condition and free from genetic defects and in good health as assessed by a
competent Veterinarian.
Rams do not need to be previously trained to collection for artificial
insemination, as techniques to train rams for collection should be part of
the instruction.
An industry recognised artificial vagina will be used with appropriate
lubrication and at the industry recommended temperature.
Equipment should be disinfected or a new liner used between each
collection.
Any single ram will be collected a maximum of 10 times over a three day
period, or a maximum 4 times per day with suitable recovery times
between each collection. Rams may need supplementary feeding during
the period of a school if they are maintained in yards or a shed during the
period of collections.
Impact of the procedure on the wellbeing of animal(s)

7. Repeated and/or inexpert practice of the procedures may result in severe
straining, with possible bleeding /and/or discharge from the vagina, vulva
or cervix of the ewe. Some (not necessarily all) of the conditions to be
observed and possible stages of risk are listed:
(a) Ewe handling
 sponge implantation / withdrawal
heat detection
drafting / catching
restraint over rail
(b) Sponge - insertion / withdrawal
(c) Speculum - placement and opening
(d) Pipette - placement / withdrawal
During the insemination process it is the responsibility of the supervising
teachers to check the cervix and vagina of each ewe prior to the removal of
the speculum and to check the point of the pipettes used for signs of blood.
If blood is noticed at any time during any procedure, the ewe involved will
be withdrawn immediately. Appropriate antibiotic treatment will be given
with close observation for some time after treatment.
Only insemination equipment which will minimise potentially dangerous
or harmful effects on the animals should be used.
Pain relief measures
Normally, none required.
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Vaginal insemination involves inserting a rod or catheter loaded with
semen into the bitch’s vagina and advancing it to the cervix opening.
Called the OS, the cervical opening is the ideal place to deposit semen.
Once the rod or catheter is in place, the semen is deposited and the rod
or catheter withdrawn. Contrary to what some people believe, this is a
safer way of breeding than natural breeding, as no contamination of
diseases from direct contact between the male and the female is
transferred.
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When using fresh or chilled semen with adequate sperm numbers and
sperm quality, deposition of semen into the very end of the vagina can
result in pregnancy and litter sizes equivalent to natural matings.

8. There are many different types of catheters that can be used for vaginal AI.
At GlenBred we insert a special artificial insemination catheter to the very
end of the vagina. At this point a bulb at the end of the catheter is inflated to
mimic the swelling of the dog’s bulbus glandis during mating (see Fig 4). This
not only prevents back flow of semen but stretches the vaginal wall resulting
in oxytocin release and stimulation of vaginal and uterine smooth muscle
contractions which facilitates transport of the sperm into the uterus. After
the bulb is inflated, fresh semen is slowly injected down the catheter into the
far end of the vagina. This is then followed by warm canine semen extender
which functions to help flush the semen into the uterus in the same way
prostatic fluid does during natural mating.
This is a technique that can be used in all bitches, is non-invasive,
requires less skill and equipment than the intra-uterine AI techniques
and therefore is also economical. It is often used in maiden bitches and
studs that fail to “tie” or mate, which can be due to a number of reasons.
Vaginal AI is not routinely used for AI with frozen semen. Semen is frozen
in significantly lower numbers (i.e. 100 million motile sperm per “AI dose”)
than what a fresh or chilled insemination dose contains. Furthermore, the
viability and longevity of frozen semen is significantly less than that of
fresh or fresh-chilled semen. Therefore deposition of low numbers of
fragile frozen-thawed sperm into the hostile vaginal environment results
in low numbers migrating through the cervix into the uterus and reaching
the fallopian tubes (oviduct), which is where fertilisation takes place. This
obviously results in a lower pregnancy rate and litter size.
3- The Transcervical Insemination:
"MVS.Glen Bred.Fiona Hollinshoad"
This is a non-surgical, non-invasive insemination technique whereby a
catheter is passed through the cervix into the uterus using a specialised
rigid endoscope. The semen is then flushed through the cervix and
deposited directly into the uterus. This procedure can be visualised by
both the veterinarian performing the procedure and the owner of the bitch
because the endoscope has a camera fitted onto it which projects an image
onto a television mounted on the wall (see Fig 3). This internationally
recognised technique was developed by Dr Marion Wilson in New Zealand.
It has been used for breeding dogs very successfully for over 20 years. It
has the advantages of being anaesthetic and sedation free, non-surgical
and relatively stress free in most bitches. It also has the distinct
advantage in comparison to surgical AI in that more than one
insemination can be carried out during the bitch’s heat.
However, there are a few bitches, often for behavioural reasons where it
may not be a feasible option.

9. There have been some recent developments with the canine TCI
endoscope. A new scope which in longer and slimmer is now available (the
technical term is “renourethroscope”). This not only facilitates TCI in
large breed and maiden bitches but its narrow and slender tip is able to be
easily passed through the cervix and into the uterus allowing visualisation
and sampling of any abnormalities that are detected. This is a fantastic
diagnostic tool for investigation of female infertility cases.
4- Surgical Intra-uterine Insemination:
"MVS.Glen Bred.Fiona Hollinshoad"
This technique involves a general anaesthetic and surgery and the associated
risks. A small incision is made into the abdomen and the uterus identified
and exteriorized. The semen is then injected directly into the uterine horns.
This technique has the advantage of not requiring any specialized equipment
but due to the invasive nature of this technique it can only be carried out once
during the bitch’s heat which makes timing of insemination very important.

10. Resources
http://www.selectsires.com/?version=20160616
https://www.wikipedia.org/
MVS.Glen Bred
animal ethics infolink
Scarsdale Farm and Equine