Figure 14.3 Placement of a 14‐gauge needle through the skin.
Source: Courtesy Josh Thompson.
Figure 14.4 Passing a 30‐cm, 18‐gauge needle through the 14‐gauge needle into the vesicular gland.
Source: Courtesy Josh Thompson.
Figure 14.5 After removing the stylus from the needle, the proper solution is injected into the vesicular gland.
Source: Courtesy Josh Thompson.
Surgical removal of the vesicular glands may be considered in bulls that do not spontaneously recover or do not respond to antimicrobial treatment or ablation. A subrectal approach has been described that provides better visualization of the vesicular glands and improved postsurgical fertility than traditional pararectal approaches. None of the described techniques for surgical gland removal has provided uniform success in returning a bull to function [1].
Any specific plan for prevention of vesicular adenitis is limited by the lack of a definitive pathogenesis. Proper herd health and husbandry may play an important role in reducing the prevalence of vesicular adenitis. Proper vaccination and deworming help support the overall health and general disease resistance of bulls. Proper nutrition and bunk management to reduce the incidence of rumen acidosis may reduce the possibility of hematogenous bacteria reaching the vesicular gland. Monitoring the genetic lines of bulls with vesicular adenitis may reveal a genetic basis for the disease. Although early detection, with or without medical intervention, has not shown a significant reduction in the incidence of clinical vesicular adenitis [17], herds with a high prevalence of adenitis may benefit from early transrectal palpation and treatment [2].
References
1 1 Wolfe, D. (1999). Accessory sex glands. In: Large Animal Urogenital Surgery (eds. D.M. Wolfe and H.D. Moll), 321–325. Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins.
2 2 Barth, A. (2015). Vesicular adenitis. In: Bovine Reproduction (ed. R.M. Hopper), 109–112. Ames, IA: Wiley.
3 3 Cavalieri, J. and Van Camp, S. (1997). Bovine seminal vesiculitis: a review and update. Vet. Clin. North Am. Food Anim. Pract. 13: 233–241.
4 4 Koziol, J. and Armstrong, C. (2018). Transrectal examination. In: Society for Theriogenology Manual for Breeding Soundness Examination of Bulls (eds. J.H. Koziol and C.L. Armstrong), 43–45. Montgomery, AL: Society for Theriogenology.
5 5 Grotelueshen, D., Morimer, R., and Ellis, R. (1994). Vesicular adenitis syndrome in beef bulls. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 205: 874–877.
6 6 Blom, E. (1979). Studies on seminal vesiculitis in the bull. 1. Semen examination methods and post mortem findings. Nord. Vet. Med. 31: 193–205.
7 7 Momont, H. and Meronek, J. (2017). Seminal vesiculitis. In: Blackwell’s Five‐Minute Veterinary Consult Ruminant (eds. K. Lutz, E. McKenzie, A. Tibary and C. Chase), 749–751. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
8 8 Barth, A., Brito, L., and Kastelic, J. (2008). The effect of nutrition on sexual development of bulls. Theriogenology 70: 485–494.
9 9 Gnemmi, G. and Lefebvre, R. (2009). Ultrasound imaging of the bull reproductive tract: an important field of expertise for veterinarians. Vet. Clin. North Am. Food Anim. Pract. 25: 767–779.
10 10 Parsonson, I., Hall, C., and Settergren, I. (1971). A method for the collection of bovine seminal vesicle secretions for microbiologic examination. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 158: 175–177.
11 11 Hopkins, F. (2007). Diseases of the reproductive system of the bull. In: Large Animal Theriogenology (eds. R.S. Youngquist and W.R. Threlfall), 240–243. St Louis, MO: Saunders.
12 12 Blanchard, T., Varner, D., Bretzlaff, K. et al. (1996). Male reproductive disorders. In: Large Animal Internal Medicine, 2e (ed. B.P. Smith), 1566–1583. St Louis, MO: Elsevier.
13 13 Rovay, H., Barth, A., Chirino‐Trejo, M., and Martinez, M. (2008). Update on treatment of vesiculitis in bulls. Theriogenology 70: 495–503.
14 14 Siegel, T., Earley, D., Smothers, C. et al. (2004). Cellular uptake of the triamilide tulathromycin by bovine and porcine phagocytic cells in vitro. J. Anim. Sci. 82: 186.
15 15 Giguere, S. (2006). Macrolides, azalides, and ketolides. In: Antimicrobial Therapy in Veterinary Medicine, 4e (eds. S. Giguere, J.F. Prescott, J.D. Baggot, et al.), 191–205. Oxford: Wiley‐Blackwell.
16 16 Waguespack R, Shumacher J, Wolfe D, et al. (2004). Preliminary Study to Evaluate the Feasibility of Chemical Ablation of the Seminal Vesicles in the Bull. Proceeding of the 37th Annual Conference of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, pp. 295–296.
17 17 Kastelic J, Thundathill J, Brito L. (2012). Bull BSE and Semen Analysis for Predicting Bull Fertility. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Theriogenology, pp. 277–287.
15 Inability to Breed Due to Injury or Abnormality of the External Genitalia of Bulls
Herris Maxwell
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
Introduction
The inability to sire offspring is referred to as impotence and may result from abnormalities in sperm production and/or inability to copulate. Inability to copulate (impotentia coeundi) is further divided into inability to perform the copulatory act due to physical limitations and inability to copulate due to erection failure (impotentia erigendi). This chapter reviews important causes of impotence due to abnormalities of the genitalia of the bull. Abnormal spermatogenesis is covered in Chapters 3 and 5.
Impact of Impotence
Natural service typically utilizes bull to cow ratios of 1 : 15 to 1 : 50 [1]. The inability of the bull to breed in a single sire unit will always have a devastating effect on reproductive efficiency. Similarly, when a socially dominant bull in a multisire unit is unable to complete the copulatory act, the decrease in breeding efficiency may not be masked by the presence of additional subservient bulls. Although artificial insemination eliminates the requirement for coitus, most semen processed for the artificial insemination industry is collected by methods that mimic the copulatory act utilizing an artificial vagina (AV) as the bull mounts a teaser or phantom. While some impediments to the copulatory
