Long-term cannulation of the ovarian vein in mares.
A cannulation technique was developed to collect blood samples from the ovarian vein of mares over an extended period. Ovarian venous cannulae placed in 4 mares remained patent for a mean (+/- SEM) duration of 36.8 (+/- 6.2) days. During mid-diestrus, concentrations of progesterone in the ovarian vein ipsilateral to the corpus luteum (1,663.8 +/- 238.8 ng/ml) were significantly (P less than 0.001) higher than concentrations measured in paired samples from the jugular vein (6.1 +/- 0.3 ng/ml). Concentration of estradiol in the ovarian vein ranged from a mean of 1,053.2 +/- 303.1 pg/ml during diestrus to 3,353.8 +/- 1,052.8 pg/ml during estrus, whereas values for 74% of samples collected concurrently from the jugular vein were near or below the sensitivity of the assay (10 pg/ml). Results of the study indicate that patent long-term ovarian vein cannulation can be achieved in mares. The cannulation technique provides access to important fundamental information on equine reproductive endocrinology, which to our knowledge, has not been available.
Linford
R L
RL
Department of Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis 95616.
McCue
P M
PM
Montavon
S
S
Lasley
B L
BL
D000818:Animals; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000662:veterinary*; D002404:Catheterization / Q000662:veterinary*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D004970:Estrone / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses / Q000097:blood*; D010053:Ovary / Q000098:blood supply*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D014680:Veins
D004970:Estrone; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol