Extra-uterine (abdominal) full term foetus in a 15-day pregnant rabbit.

BACKGROUND: While ectopic pregnancies account for 1-2% of all pregnancies, abdominal pregnancy is extremely rare, accounting for approximately 1% of ectopic pregnancies. Extrauterine abdominal pregnancy is defined as the implantation and development of an embryo in the peritoneal cavity. The present report is the first of an incidental case of abdominal pregnancy within four full-term foetus simultaneously with 2 weeks of physiological gestation in a healthy doe rabbit. CASE PRESENTATION: The doe was born on November 3, 2014 and the first partum took place on May 18, 2015. The doe had previously delivered and weaned an average of 12.0 ± 1.41 live kits at birth (no stillbirths were recorded) during 5 consecutive pregnancies. The last mating was on December 18, 2015 and the detection of pregnancy failure post breeding (by abdominal palpation) on December 31, 2015. Then, the doe was artificially inseminated on January 27, 2016, diagnosed pregnant on February 11, 2016 and subsequently euthanized to recover the foetus. A ventral midline incision revealed a reproductive tract with 12 implantation sites with 15 days old foetus and 4 term foetus in abdominal cavity. There were two foetus floating on either side of the abdominal cavity and two suspended near the greater curvature of the stomach. They were attached to internal organs by means of one or 2 thread-like blood vessels that linked them to the abdominal surfaces. CONCLUSIONS: In our opinion a systematic monitoring of rabbit breeding should be included to fully understand and enhance current knowledge of this phenomenon of abdominal pregnancy.

ABDOMINAL PREGNANCY IN A SERVAL (LEPTAILURUS SERVAL) SECONDARY TO UTERINE RUPTURE.

A 14-yr-old female serval (Leptailurus serval) died unexpectedly after 2 wk of inappetence and lethargy. Necropsy revealed a pyoabdomen with a full-term, well-developed fetus in the caudal abdomen covered by a mesenteric sac. The mesenteric sac communicated with a tear in the wall of the right uterine horn, supporting a diagnosis of secondary abdominal pregnancy. The uterine wall had evidence of adenomyosis at the rupture site with no evidence of pyometra. The fetus, supporting mesentery, and peritoneum were coated with mixed bacteria, which may have ascended through an open cervix to the site of uterine rupture. This is the first case of abdominal pregnancy related to uterine rupture reported in a large felid species.

High-risk pregnancy in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta): a case of ectopic, abdominal pregnancy with birth of a live, term infant, and a case of gestational diabetes complicated by pre-eclampsia.

BACKGROUND: Cases of abdominal pregnancy, in the form of intra-abdominal mummified fetuses, have been described in nonhuman primates. Gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia are common pregnancy complications in women. METHODS: Two timed-bred rhesus monkeys had high-risk pregnancies, an abdominal pregnancy with delivery of a live term infant, and a case of gestational diabetes that later developed pre-eclampsia. RESULTS: The monkey that had abdominal pregnancy later died from septic peritonitis. The monkey had a colonic adenocarcinoma that may have allowed leakage of intestinal contents into the abdomen. Her infant was fostered to another female and survived. The monkey with gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia was treated with a regimen similar to that used in women, and a live infant was delivered at day 157 of gestation by Caesarian section. CONCLUSION: These cases underscore the value of timed-breeding and the similarities between pregnancy complications in women and in nonhuman primates.

Ectopic pregnancy in animals and humans.

Ectopic pregnancy denotes a pregnancy occurring elsewhere than in the cavity of the uterus. This pathology has been recognised for years and it causes numerous maternal deaths during the first trimester of pregnancy. While this condition is well-known in humans, it is rarely diagnosed in animals. However, the causes and mechanisms leading to an ectopic implantation of the ovum are not always clearly defined in humans or animals. Two types of ectopic pregnancy are mainly recognized: (1) tubal pregnancy occurs when an oocyte is fertilized and then remains in the oviduct and (2) abdominal pregnancy occurs when the gestation develops in the peritoneal cavity. The latter may be subdivided into two subtypes: the primary form, when a fertilized oocyte enters the peritoneal cavity and becomes attached to the mesentery or abdominal viscera, and the secondary form, which follows the rupture of an oviduct or the uterus after the fetus has been implanted, and the fetus is expelled into the peritoneal cavity. Cornual, ovarian and cervical ectopic locations are less frequent. Several differences exist in ectopic pregnancies between human beings and animal species. While abdominal pregnancy has been described in both human and animal species, tubal ectopic pregnancies would appear to be restricted to primates. Other than anecdotal cases, this pathological condition does not occur in laboratory, domestic or farm animals. Several factors are described as being the cause of these differences.

Abdominal pregnancies in farm rabbits.

Abdominal pregnancy is defined as the implantation and development of a fertilized ovum or a embryo in the peritoneal cavity. Although this has been reported in several species, it is considered as a low incidence process. It is classified as a primary abdominal pregnancy, if there is no evidence of uterine rupture, with presumed regurgitation of early embryos from the uterine tube and as a secondary abdominal pregnancy, when there is evidence of uterine rupture. During a necropsy study of 550 adult fertile female New Zealand white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from two rabbit farms in Valencia (Spain), the main causes of elimination were studied. Twenty-eight abdominal pregnancies were diagnosed. Seven animals showed no lesions in their reproductive tract. The remaining twenty one animals showed acute or chronic lesions in the reproductive tract. The classification as a primary or secondary condition is discussed. It may be concluded therefore that extrauterine pregnancies would not be such an unusual finding in rabbits, and that this premise should be considered in the diagnostic approach when assessing rabbit doe pathology. New husbandry systems in rabbits such as artificial insemination are factors to be considered.

Abdominal pregnancy in a baboon: a first case report.

The abdominal pregnancy is a rare, but life threatening complication of ectopic embryo implantation. Only three cases of abdominal pregnancy have been previously described in primates: in a squirrel monkey, owl monkey and in a rhesus macaque. A 14-year-old wild-caught olive baboon (Papio cynocephalus anubis) was diagnosed at the ultrasound examination with advanced gestational age extrauterine pregnancy. At the initial laparotomy and necropsy the diagnosis of abdominal pregnancy was made on Studdiford's criteria. This case indicates the possibility of developing a model for further study of different types of ectopic pregnancy and indicates a cesarean section as a risk factor for abdominal pregnancy.

[A chance finding during the sterilization of a cat: a mummified fetus in the abdominal cavity]. / Zufallsbefund bei der Sterilisation einer Katze: Mumifizierter Fetus in der Bauchhöhle.

While sterilizing a cat, a mummified pup is found in her abdominal cavity. Further examinations suggest that a primary abdominal pregnancy can be excluded, although no perforation or scar of the uterine wall is noticed during operation.

[Primary and secondary extrauterine pregnancy in a cat]. / Primäre oder sekundäre Extrauteringravidität bei einer Katze.

The primary and secondary extrauterine gravidity is defined and the different types are explained. With reference to embryos found in the abdomen of a cat, four embryos in different developmental stages and mummification grades are discussed, emphasizing which of the extrauterine gravidity type is present in this clinical case. A primary abdominal pregnancy could not be proven histologically.

Abdominal pregnancy in a golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus).

Ten days following the birth of five apparently normal pups, a female hamster developed bilateral abdominal distention. Both dam and pups appeared healthy at this time. The dam was killed, and postmortem examination revealed five additional pups encapsulated in the abdominal cavity outside the uterus. It was not possible to determine if this was a primary ectopic implantation or occurred secondary to the recent partuition.

An abdominal mummified fetus in a Macaca assamensis.

A case of an ectopic mummified fetus in a Macaca assamensis is described. The condition was detected on routine clinical examination of a newly acquired monkey, and the mummified fetus was surgically removed.

A high incidence of abdominal pregnancy in the Djungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus).

Eight animals with abdominal fetuses were found in a relatively small colony of Djungarian hamsters. All the fetuses were macerated. Some had remains of an amniotic sac with an umbilical attachment to a placenta adherent to the peritoneum, but others were without placental remains. Gross and histological examinations failed to reveal any ruptures of the uterus or oviducts. It was not possible to decide whether the abdominal pregnancies were primary or secondary.

Ectopic pregnancy in 2 guinea-pigs.

The foetuses were completely developed and were found in the peritoneal cavities of strain 13/N guinea-pigs in their 3rd pregnancies. One foetal placenta was attached to the left side of the peritoneal wall, the other adhered to the pyloric region of the stomach.