Pathological findings in the bulbourethral glands of bulls

Abstract

The bulbourethral glands of 323 Bos indicus or B. indicus crossbred bulls more than 1 1/2 years old were examined in an abattoir study. Bulbourethral adenitis was diagnosed grossly and confirmed by histological examination in 4 (1.2%). Unilateral chronic interstitial inflammation was seen in 2 cases; one of these was associated with a degenerative-type seminal vesiculitis. In the others adenitis was bilateral; in one case it was associated with a concretion and foreign (plant) material in the principal duct of the left bulbourethral gland; in the other bilateral case, numerous calculi were present and microscopically, a chronic active and diffuse inflammation was observed. Chemical analysis of the calculi showed calcium oxalate and tricalcium phosphate to be the most important components. Corynebacterium spp was isolated from the lesion with multiple calculi but attempts to isolate Chlamydia spp, Mycoplasma spp and Brucella abortus from the 4 adenitis cases were unsuccessful. Congenital abnormalities such as glandular fusion (2.2%) or unilateral aplasia (0.6%) were also observed. Cysts were the most common finding (19.2%), and duct dilation was frequent (7.1%). The significance of these findings in relation to fertility is considered.

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, ).…”

Unbiased Estimate of the Epithelial Cell Number and Epithelial Cell Nuclear Volume in the Bulbourethral (Cowper) Glands of Holstein Bulls – A Stereological Study

“…The two main bulbourethral glands are situated in the bulbospongial tissue which's found at a dorsolateral location at the caudal end of the urethra masculine 4,5 . The gland has a mucoid secretion that produces by the epithelial cells in the gland and this secretion lubricates the urethra for the semen consistence [4][5][6] .…”

“…The gland has a mucoid secretion that produces by the epithelial cells in the gland and this secretion lubricates the urethra for the semen consistence [4][5][6] . There is another physiological importance of the cowper's gland which is promoting the semen coagulation.…”