HAEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS DURING THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE ESTROUS CYCLE IN RAGUSANA JENNIES (EQUUS ASINUS).

HAEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS DURING THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE ESTROUS CYCLE IN RAGUSANA JENNIES (EQUUS ASINUS). Quartuccio M, Masucci M, Rizzo M, Marino P, Ajello A, Cristarella S. Department of Veterinary Sciences, Messina. Aim: Changes in haematological values during the estrous or menstrual cycle have been reported in some species but there are no data for the donkey [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the various phases of the estrous cycle on haematological parameters in jennies. M&M: The work was carried out from January to February 2014 on 7 clinically healthy and cyclic Ragusana jennies, aging 2-16 years, living in Sicily. The animals were monitored by ultrasound examination every 3 days from the time of ovulation during one regular oestrus cycle (21-24 successive days). Blood samples were collected with each ultrasound examination (luteal phase: day 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16 and follicular phase: day 1, 4, 7) by jugular venipuncture into EDTA tubes. A complete blood count (CBC) was performed using the hematology analyzer ProCyte Dx® (IDEXX). The parameters measured included: red blood cell count (RBC), hematocrit (HCT), haemoglobin concentration (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), red cell distribution width (RDW), white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophils (NEU), lymphocyte (LIM), monocyte (MONO), eosinophil (EOS) and basophil (BASO) count, platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), plateletcrit (PCT). Test results were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: No significant changes were found for haematological parameters during the study period. Conclusion: The results of this work indicate that the oestrus cycle is not significant determinant of variation in haematological values in jennies. References: 1. Ahamadi M.R., Nazifi S., Ghaisari H.R.: Comparison of hormonl changes of estrous cycle with cytology of cervical mucosa and hematological parameters in dairy heifers. Comp. Clin Pathol 2006; 15 (2): 94-97. 2. Chawla R.V.K., Choudhary R., Binawara B.K., Choudhary S: Haematological and electrocardiographic variations during menstrual cycle. Pak. J. Physiol 2010; 6 (1): 18-21. 3. Harewood W.J., Gillin A., Hennessy A., Armistead J., Horvath J.S., Tiller D.J.: The effects of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and early lactation on haematology and plasma biochemistry in the baboon (Papio hamadryas). Journal of Medical Primatology 2000; 29 (6): 415-420. 4. Hussain A.M., Daniel, R.C.W.: Studies on some aspects of neutrophil functions and uterine defense in cows during the estrous cycle. Reproduction in domestic animals 1991; 26 (6): 290-296. 5. Willson C.J., Chandra S.A., Kimbrough C.L., Jordan H.L.: Effect of estrous cycle phase on clinical pathology values in beagle dogs. Vet Clin Pathol 2012: 41 (1): 71-76.