In spite of numerous, substantial advances in equine reproduction, many stages of embryonic and fetal morphological development are poorly understood, with no apparent single source of comprehensive information. Hence, the objective of the present study was to provide a complete macroscopic and microscopic description of the equine embryo/fetus at various gestational ages. Thirty-four embryos/fetuses were aged based on their crown rump length (CRL), and submitted to macroscopic description, biometry, light and scanning microscopy, as well as the alizarin technique. All observed developmental changes were chronologically ordered and described. As examples of the main observed features, an accentuated cervical curvature was observed upon macroscopic examination in all specimens. In the nervous system, the encephalic fourth ventricle and the encephalic vesicles forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain, were visualized from Day 19 (ovulation = Day 0). The thoracic and pelvic limbs were also visualized; their extremities gave rise to the hoof during development from Day 27. Development of other structures such as pigmented optical vesicle, liver, tail, cardiac area, lungs, and dermal vascularization started on Days 25, 25, 19, 19, 34, and 35, respectively. Light and scanning microscopy facilitated detailed examinations of several organs, e.g., heart, kidneys, lungs, and intestine, whereas the alizarin technique enabled visualization of ossification. Observations in this study contributed to the knowledge regarding equine embryogenesis, and included much detailed data from many specimens collected over a long developmental interval.

BackgroundChronic Spinal Cord injury is a common, severe, and medically untreatable disease. Since the functional outcomes of acute and experimental chronic spinal cord injury have been shown to improve with stem cell therapy, a case study was conducted to test if the application of stem cell also regenerates chronic SCI dysfunction. Transplantation of foetal bone marrow stem cells was applied in seven dogs with chronic spinal cord injury. Magnetic resonance images and assessments of symptoms according to the Olby scale were used to diagnose the severity of injury.ResultAll dogs improved locomotor and sensory function when examined 90 days after surgery, and showed increased movement of the hind limbs, and were able to stand upright, as well as to take small steps. Tail tone was observed in seven dogs, pain reflexes and defecation return were observed in five dogs.ConclusionThe transplantation of bone marrow stem may be a promising, reliable and safe treatment for chronic spinal cord injury.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2050-490X-2-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Maternal immunity is the main early defense against infectious agents in newborns. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is indispensable for immune defense against infectious agents. IgG is transported through either the colostrum or the placenta. Immunoglobulins are antibodies, and the five different classes of these antibodies are IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD and IgE. Through their biological function of binding antigens, antibodies facilitate the removal of antigens from the body. The placenta is a temporary maternal-fetal organ, whose principal function is to allow the controlled exchange of metabolites between mother and embryo/fetus during gestation. The placenta types in different species are classified by the number of membranes separating the maternal and fetal blood circulation. Humans, lagomorphs and rodents have hemochorial placentas, which require a receptor for IgG transfer. In other animals, such as horse and pig (epitheliochorial placenta), ruminants (synepitheliochorial placenta) and carnivores (endotheliochorial placenta), antibodies are transferred via the colostrum and absorbed by passive diffusion. This review covers immunoglobulin transport in several types of placentas.

Since the horse has a highly precocial reproductive strategy, most organs are functionally well developed at birth and thus, embryonic and fetal life is interesting. Data on the development of important organs are very limited. Here, we detailed macroscopically and histologically the equine digestive system, focusing on the first third of gestation. At 21 days, the oral cavity was an empty space, and the liver contained proliferating endodermal cells. At 25 days, a fusiform stomach and the pancreatic bud were present. At 28 days, a small tongue and the esophagus occurred. At 30 days, primary and secondary palates were developed, the liver contained cords of hepatocytes, and the pancreas was triangular. At 40 days, crypts had formed in the intestinal loops, cell differentiation was observed in the hepatic parenchyma, and the pancreas was elongated. Pancreatic acini and islets were observed in fetuses of 50 days and intestines were highly convoluted. Three segments of the pharynx were distinguishable at 75 days. At 105 days, the intestinal villi were wide with round tips; especially, the liver, stomach, and oral cavity showed key steps of anatomical and cellular differentiation in early fetuses, whereas other areas, such as pancreas or pharynx were still immature in the investigated phase. Pluripotency analysis using Oct4 showed initial intense staining in all of the digestive system tissues and a later decreased becoming restricted to specific cell layers. In conclusion, our data may contribute to perform a chronological reference of developmental events for approaches predicting pregnancy disorders in horses.

O preá do semiárido nordestino (Galea spixii Wagler, 1831) é um roedor pertencente à família Caviidae. Pouca literatura é encontrada sobre essa espécie em relação a sua morfologia e seu comportamento ambiental e reprodutivo. Com o objetivo de entender a morfologia geral, em foco, na inervação do membro pélvico dessa espécie, neste trabalho, foi explorado o nervo isquiático, o qual é o maior de todos os nervos do organismo. Foram utilizados 10 preás (cinco machos e cinco fêmeas) que vieram a óbito por causas naturais, oriundos do Centro de Multiplicação de Animais Silvestres da Universidade Federal Rural do Semiárido (CEMAS/UFERSA). Os animais foram fixados após o óbito em solução aquosa de formaldeído 10% e, após 48 horas de imersão nessa solução, foram dissecados para exposição do nervo isquiático. Dessa forma, os dados obtidos foram compilados em tabelas e expressos em desenhos esquemáticos e fotografias. Os pares de nervos isquiáticos originaram-se de raízes ventrais de L6L7S1 (70%) e de L7S1S2 (30%) e distribuíram-se pelos músculos glúteo profundo, bíceps femural, semitendinoso e semimembranoso.

Most descriptions of the ostrich oropharynx and oesophagus are superficial and supply little meaningful morphological data. The aim of this investigation is describe the ostrich oropharingeal cavity, in order to supply the deficiency of macroscopic data about this important animal. Five heads of 12 to 14-month-old ostriches of either sex were anatomically dissected to expose the oropharynx. The ostrich oropharynx was "bell-shaped" composed by the maxillary and mandibular ramphoteca. The roof and floor presented two distinct regions different in colour of the mucosa. The rostral region was pale pink contrasting to creamy-pink coloured caudal region. The median longitudinal ridge extended rostrally from the apex of the choana to the tip of the beak in the roof and it is clearly more prominent and rigid than the homolog in the floor that appeared thin and stretched rostrally, continuing caudally surrounding the tongue and the laryngeal mound eventually merging with the oesophageal mucosa. The floor was formed by the interramal region, tongue and laryngeal mound containing shield-shaped glottis. It can be concluded that the present study, in addition to confirming the basic features of the oropharynx previously described for the ostrich, clarified the contradictory information presented in the literature and also provided new, unreported morphological data, some of which may be important when studying nutrition and health in these birds. RESUMO.-[Características macroscópicas da cavidade orofaríngea de avestruz (Struthio camelus).]Os estudos já realizados sobre a cavidade orofaríngea da avestruz são escassos e não elucidam completamente sua morfologia. O objetivo desse estudo foi descrever macroscopicamente a cavidade orofaríngea de avestruzes com o intuito de suprir a deficiência de informação nesta espé-cie. Foram utilizadas 5 cabeças de avestruzes com doze a quatorze meses de idade dissecadas seguindo padrões anatômicos de modo a expor a orofaringe. A orofaringe de avestruzes tem formato de sino e é composta pelas ranfotecas maxilar e mandibular. O teto e o assoalho apresentavam duas regiões distintas diferindo quanto à coloração da mucosa. A porção mais rostral era de coloração rosa pálida contrastando com a coloração mais fortemente rosada da porção mais caudal. A ruga palatina mediana estendia-se rostralmente do ápice da coana até a ponta do bico. No teto esta era mais proeminente e rígida que a do assoalho que se apresentava delgada e se estendia ao longo da porção rostral da região interramal, continuando caudalmente ao redor da coana e laringe e estendendo-se até o esôfago. O assoalho estava formado pela região interramal, língua e uma laringe com uma glote em forma de escudo. Pode-se concluir o presente estudo, além de Pesq. Vet. Bras. 31(6):543-550, junho 2011Catarina Tivane et al. 544 confirmar as características básicas da orofaringe da avestruz previamente descritas, clarificam a informação contraditória presente na literatura e também novas informações morfológicas não previamente descritas são d...

ResumoOrigem do plexo lombossacral em Galea spixii (Wagler, 1831) (Rodentia, Caviidae). O preá silvestre é um roedor pertencente à família Caviidae presente na região semiárida do Nordeste do Brasil. Foram utilizados 20 preás que vieram a óbito por causas naturais, obtidos no Centro de Multiplicação de Animais Silvestres (CEMAS) da Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (UFERSA). Os animais foram ixados em solução aquosa de formaldeído a 10% e, após 48 h, foram dissecados para visualização do plexo. As relações topográicas do plexo lombossacral foram agrupadas em tabelas e, posteriormente, submetidas a análises estatísticas (teste do qui-quadrado com correção de Yates). O plexo lombossacral originou-se das raízes ventrais dos três últimos nervos lombares e dos três primeiros nervos sacrais, correspondendo a 65% dos animais estudados (L 5 L 6 L 7 S 1 S 2 S 3 ). Originam-se do plexo os nervos: femoral, obturatório, isquiático, glúteo cranial, glúteo caudal e pudendo. Palavras-chave:Anatomia; Nervos; Preá; Roedor; Sistema nervoso AbstractThe yellow-toothed cavy is a rodent belonging to the Caviidae family that inhabits the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil. We used 20 cavies that had died of natural causes, obtained from the Reproduction Center of Wild Animals (CEMAS) of the Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid (UFERSA). The animals were ixed in aqueous solution of 10% formaldehyde and, after 48 hours, they were dissected to visualize plexus. The topographic relations of the lumbosacral plexus were grouped into tables and then they underwent statistical analysis (chi-square test with Yates' correction). The lumbosacral plexus stemmed from the ventral roots of the last 3 lumbar nerves and the irst 3 sacral nerves, corresponding to 65% of the animals under study (L 5 L 6 L 7 S 1 S 2 S 3 ). These nerves stemmed from plexus: femoral, obturator, ischiatic, cranial gluteal, caudal gluteal, and pudendal.

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