An assessment of the vaginal biopsy technique of pregnancy diagnosis in sows.
Vaginal biopsies were taken from 450 sows in 2 commercial herds, 20 to 22 days after mating or artificial insemination. On histological examination, 96% of sows which subsequently farrowed were correctly diagnosed as pregnant, whereas only 21% and 50% of non-pregnant sows were identified. In 1 herd, 31 of 33 non-pregnant sows showed a delay in returning to oestrus (less than 42 days). Twenty-four of these sows were incorrectly diagnosed as pregnant on the basis of their vaginal cytology.
D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy / Q000662:veterinary; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004971:Estrus; D005260:Female; D011247:Pregnancy; D011258:Pregnancy Tests; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D013552:Swine; D014621:Vagina / Q000166:cytology*