The morphofunctional state of pregnant sheep in the last stages of gestation is normal and with symptoms of eclampsia

Abstract

Sheep in the last stages of pregnancy showed signs of eclampsia, such as proteinuria, hypertension, swelling of the abdominal wall, and coma. Based on the diagnoses, two groups of 20 sheep with eclampsia were created: typical and atypical signs, in each, and one group of clinically healthy animals. From each group, 5 animals were slaughtered. In sheep suffering from eclampsia, a decrease in the total mass of the placenta and its cotyledons, as well as an increase in the length of the umbilical cord, was also found. Standard histological and histochemical studies were performed on the obtained placental samples. As a result, it was found that the average thickness of the integumentary epithelium of the caruncles in ewes with a typical form of eclampsia was 14.3 ± 1.7 μm, and in sheep with an atypical form - 15.5 ± 1.9 μm, compared with 27.9 ± 1 .9 µm in the physiological course of gestation. This leads to a general decrease in the thickness of the layers of connective tissue separating the crypt and villi of the cotyledons. In addition, the cytoplasm of cells exhibits dystrophic modifications along with a decrease in the ability to store glycogen. Dystrophic changes are present in the cytoplasm of cells, which contributes to a decrease in glycogen storage.