Complications during gestation in the cow

Uterine torsion and vaginal prolapse are accidents of gestation; this paper first reviews the predisposition, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of uterine torsion, and the predisposition, pathogenesis, symptoms, treatment, and prognosis of vaginal prolapse during late gestation in the cow. Other noninfectious complications of gestation are either fetal or placental in origin. Two relatively unusual fetal problems, mummification and maceration, are also discussed, followed by a comparison of two hydropic conditions (hydrallantois and hydramnios). Hydrops allantois, primarily a placental problem, occurs about nine times more frequently than hydrops amnii, which is a result of fetal anomalies. Abnormal offspring syndrome is a more recent phenomenon associated with the transfer of IVF or SCNT embryos. Finally, reference is made to teratology in general and a website of illustrations is cited.