Fetal Growth and Osteogenesis Dynamics during Early Development in the Ovine Species

Increased knowledge of the developmental processes during gestation could provide valuable information on potential alterations in embryonic/fetal development. We examined the development of ovine conceptus between the 20th and 70th day of gestation with three convergent analyses: (1) uterus ultraso...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animals (Basel) 2023-02, Vol.13 (5), p.773
Main Authors: Succu, Sara, Contu, Efisiangelo, Bebbere, Daniela, Gadau, Sergio Domenico, Falchi, Laura, Nieddu, Stefano Mario, Ledda, Sergio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age determination
Analysis
Bone growth
Bones
Cartilage
Chronology
Embryogenesis
Embryonic development
Ethanol
Fetus
Fetuses
Gestation
Gestational age
Growth
Growth rate
Ossification
Osteogenesis
osteogenesis dynamics
Parameter estimation
Physiology
Pregnancy
Pregnant women
Prenatal development
prenatal growth
Sheep
Skeleton
Staining
Stains & staining
Tibia
Ultrasonic imaging
Ultrasound
Ultrasound imaging
Uterus
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Increased knowledge of the developmental processes during gestation could provide valuable information on potential alterations in embryonic/fetal development. We examined the development of ovine conceptus between the 20th and 70th day of gestation with three convergent analyses: (1) uterus ultrasound examination and measurement (eco) of crown-rump length (CRL) and biparietal diameter (BPD) of the conceptus; (2) direct measurement (vivo) of CRL and BPD of the conceptus outside the uterus (3) osteo-cartilage dynamics during development by differential staining. No significant differences were observed between eco and vivo measurements for CRL and BPD in all examined concepti. CRL and BPD, instead, showed a significant positive linear correlation with gestational age. The study of osteogenesis dynamics has demonstrated a completely cartilaginous ovine fetus at up to 35 days of gestation. The ossification begins in the skull (40th day) and is almost complete between the 65th and the 70th of pregnancy. Our study highlighted that CRL and BPD are accurate parameters for gestational age estimation in the first part of sheep pregnancy and provides an overview of osteochondral temporal dynamics. Furthermore, tibia ossification is a valid parameter to estimate fetal age by ultrasound.
ISSN:2076-2615
2076-2615
DOI:10.3390/ani13050773