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

Abstract

BackgroundWhile 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 presentationThe 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.ConclusionsIn 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 Ectopic Pregnancy and Impaired Postnatal Mammary Gland Development, Consistent With Physiologic Agalactia, in a Wild European Rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus

“…Studies in farmed or laboratory rabbits, for which dates of insemination are recorded, have facilitated accurate description of concurrent abdominal pregnancies and intrauterine fetuses of differing ages (13), suggesting that it is indeed feasible that the abdominal fetus described in this report originally arose during a previous pregnancy. This raises the question of whether the wild rabbit described here would have exhibited clinical signs associated with the presence of the lithopedion.…”

“…Abdominal pregnancies have been previously described in laboratory (8), pet (9–11), and farmed Oryctolagus cuniculus (1, 12, 13). Indeed, in farmed rabbits, use of artificial insemination has been postulated to be a factor in the pathogenesis of some cases (12).…”

Pregnancy Complications and Feto-Maternal Monitoring in Rabbits

“…Despite the few reports available, ectopic gestation has already been described in wild lagomorphs, farmed, laboratory, and pet rabbits. Nevertheless, few or no reproductive abnormalities were observed [20,[37][38][39][40][41].…”

“…According to the reports on this subject, the diagnosis is often based on the presence of palpable abdominal mass(es) and/or further discovery during the necropsy of at least one fetus that can be calcified (lithopedia) or not, still attached to an inflamed uterine horn with fibrosis by a thin fibrovascular stalk or to the abdominal surface by thread-like blood vessels [37,38]. Natural gestation and AG may occur simultaneously [39], as well as new pregnancies can coexist with dead fetuses from previous AG [20,38]. At least two studies have described the identification of fetuses of different gestational ages in pregnant rabbits [20,38].…”

“…Natural gestation and AG may occur simultaneously [39], as well as new pregnancies can coexist with dead fetuses from previous AG [20,38]. At least two studies have described the identification of fetuses of different gestational ages in pregnant rabbits [20,38]. Abdominal gestation may be somehow linked to impaired mammary gland development, but further studies are needed to understand how [37].…”