Breed Differences in Abnormalities of the Reproductive Organs of Young Beef Bulls

Abstract

A total of 702 examinations were conducted on young (16 to 31 months) beef bulls of 3 breeds and 3 breed crosses (Brahman cross--100; Africander cross--93; Shorthorn cross--109; Brahman--81; Africander--89, and Hereford--230). A high occurrence of both increased size (overall 11.7%) and consistency (overall 40.2%) of seminal vesicles was observed. The Hereford breed had most enlarged (19.1%, P less than .01) and firm (20.9%, P less than .01) seminal vesicles. The significance of these findings is discussed. Testicular hypoplasia was diagnosed in 2.7% of examinations. The Brahman breed had most testicular hypoplasia (8.6%, P less than .01). The implications of this finding are discussed and the need is stressed for a wider investigation of gonad development in the Brahman breed in Australia. Other findings included: small seminal vesicles in 1.6% of examinations (Brahman breed highest with 8.6%, P less than .001), enlarged ampullae, 1.9%, 'soft' testicles, 3.4% and small testicles, 7.5%. Abnormal carriage of the testicles was detected in 0.3% of examinations. Ulceration of the prepuce was observed in 6.8% of examinations. The highest occurrences were in the SH (13.8%, P less than .01) and Africander (13.5%, P less than .05) breed groups. Varying degrees of preputial eversion or prolapse were seen in 0.7% of examinations with the Bx breed group having highest representation (3.0%, P less than .05).

Multicystic degeneration of the Cowper's gland in a Large White boar

“…In cases of reduced fertility in boars, clinical examination and further tests are essential and need to be performed sequentially to evaluate the entire genitourinary system. During the manual palpation of the caudal part of the bulbourethral gland, the animal in this case showed signs of pain and the gland morphology was changed, which was also reported in bulls with cystic degeneration (Campero, ; Chenoweth & Osborne, ). As a next step, a transrectal ultrasonographic examination was performed to visualize the architecture of the accessory sex gland (Clark & Althouse, ).…”

“…In mice, genetically heritable cysts in the bulbourethral gland caused by constitutive activation of the bone morphogenetic protein gene are reported (Hu, ). Dependency on breed regarding the incidence of abnormalities of the bulbourethral gland was encountered in bulls (Chenoweth & Osborne, ). In animals, a hormonal impact on degenerative processes is described.…”

“…However, studies in mice and bulls with cystic bulbourethral glands reported a reduced fertility without detectable changes in the semen quality. The reduced fertility may result from mechanical obstruction of the urethra or pain on ejaculation (Myles et al., ) as these causes have been described in bulls with cystic bulbourethral glands (Chenoweth & Osborne, ). In this case, several factors could have led to the degeneration of the accessory gland, but the aetiology remains unclear.…”

Comparative ejaculatory response, fresh and frozen semen quality and fertility to artificial vagina vs electroejaculation method of semen collection in mithun ( Bos frontalis ) bulls

“…The frothy salivation upon electrical stimulation was significantly higher in the younger group due to anxiety and stress upon electrical stimulation. The salivation has been reported in an earlier EE study in bulls (Chenoweth & Osborne, 1978). The use of xylazine before electroejaculation has shown copious salivation in bulls (Mosure et al, 1998); however, our study did not use any anaesthetic protocol before electroejaculation.…”

Heritable testicular hypoplasia in Nguni (Bos indicus) bulls: vascular characteristics and testosterone production

“…Testicular hypoplasia has been reported in cattle (Eriksson, 1943; Lagerlof, 1951;Laing & Young, 1956;Humphrey & Ladds, 1975;Chenoweth & Osborne, 1978;Entwistle et al, 1980), pigs (Hancock & Daker, 1981) and sheep (Van Rensburg, 1953). Hypoplastic testes are smaller than normal (Roberts, 1956;Humphrey & Ladds, 1975) and show altered spermatogenic activity (Lagerlof, 1939;Laing & Young, 1956;Roberts, 1956;Humphrey & Ladds, 1975) which, in the bilaterally affected animal, leads to decreased fertility or total infertility.…”