Influence of the Sexual Cycle Stage on the Vaginal Mucus Composition in Cows

Abstract

Introduction. Herd reproduction is the fundamental mechanism ensuring the efficiency of animal husbandry in the past, present and future. The significant problems in cattle herd breeding existing in our country make the researchers continue their search for the new methods, methodologies and means of prophylaxis and treatment of the inflammatory diseases of the animal genital tract. For implementation of these findings, it is necessary to determine the regularities in the cow genital tract protective mechanisms. The present research aims at studying the changes in the vaginal mucosa cytological composition through the alteration of the sexual cycle stages in cows.Materials and Methods. The objects for the study were the newly-calved cows of the Holsteinized black-and-white breed in different sexual cycle stages: the control group included the cows in the stage of equilibration, the experimental group № 1 – the cows in the heat phase of the excitation stage and the experimental group № 2 – the animals in the ovulation phase of the excitation stage. The research was conducted using the set of methods: the pH-metry of the vaginal mucosa for making a semi-quantitative assessment by means of a colpo test and the cytological investigation carried out in compliance with the commonly accepted methodology.Results. During the pH-metry of the vaginal mucosa, no feasible differences were found between the studied groups, namely, in the control group the pH index was 6.58±0.08, in the experimental group № 1 – 6.66±0.10, in the experimen-tal group № 2 – 6.83±0.10. The cytological analysis of the cow vaginal smears revealed the following: the parabasal cells predominate in the equilibration stage (19–25 %), the superficial cells – in the heat phase (58–62 %), whereas in the ovulation phase there increases the number of intermediate cells (30–34 %).Discussion and Conclusions. The relationship between the clinical status, pH level, vaginal mucus cell composition in cows has been traced. The obtained data can be used by the veterinarians of the cattle farms to identify the phase of «silent» heat in cows.