Influence of pregnancy, parturition and puerperium in the hemogram of Saanen goats (Capra hircus), bred in the State of São Paulo

Author(s)

Rinaldo Batista Viana

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ/SBD)
• Defense date: 2001-11-09

Examining board members

Eduardo Harry Birgel Junior; Fernando José Benesi; Aureo Evangelista Santana

• Advisor: Eduardo Harry Birgel Junior

Abstract

With the intention of evaluating the influence of pregnancy, parturition and puerperium in the hemogram of Saanen goats (Capra hircus), blood samples were taken from goats bred in feedlots on the State of São Paulo. The blood samples were collected with EDTA and submitted to the following tests: erythrocyte counts (in the modified Neubauer hemocytometer, using Gowers liquid as a dilute); packed cell volume (using the microhematocrit method); hemoglobin concentration (using cyanmethemoglobin method); calculated blood indices: MCV mean corpuscular volume; MCH mean corpuscular hemoglobin; MCHC mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration; total leukocyte counts (in the modified Neubauer hemocytometer, using Thomas liquid as a dilute); and differential leukocyte count (made up with blood smears and stained with Rosenfeld method). The first experiment was designed to evaluate the influence of pregnancy and puerperium. 150 blood samples were collected from five experimental groups of 30 goats each. These were the groups: G1 non-pregnant; G2 initial pregnancy (30 to 60 days of pregnancy); G3 middle pregnancy (60 to 120 days of pregnancy); G4 late pregnancy (more than 120 days of pregnancy); G5 kidding goats (until 30 days after parturition). In the second experiment, the influence of parturition and puerperium was evaluated in the hemogram. 198 blood samples were collected from 11 goats at different moments during pregnancy or puerperium and were allotted into 18 experimental groups as described: 32, 16, 8, 4, 3, 2, 1, ½ days before parturition, immediately after parturition and ½, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 days after parturition. In the 1st experiment, the evaluation of the results showed that the erythrogram was influenced by the pregnancy, characterizing the hemogram by a decrease on the number of erythrocytes and a raise on the values of the MVC and the MCH. The influence of pregnancy in the leukogram was also studied, showing a gradual decrease on the number of leukocytes further on in pregnancy reaching lower values at the end of pregnancy and puerperium. This happened due to changes observed on the absolute number of lymphocytes that lowered further on in pregnancy, becoming the leukogram mostly neutrophilic at the end of pregnancy and puerperium. In the 2nd experiment, an evaluation of the results concerning the influence of parturition and puerperium in the hemogram demonstrated that only the leukogram was under the influence of these factors. On the last three days of pregnancy, a gradual raise on the number of leukocytes was observed due to same changes on the total number of neutrophils. At the moment of parturition the leukogram was characterized by a leukocytosis due to neutrophilia with no shift to the left. On the first 24 hours after parturition, it was still possible to observe this leukocytosis due to neutrophilia that disappeared on the subsequent days making the leukogram look similar to that observed at the late pregnancy until the end of puerperium. (AU)