Uterine rupture
Keywords: uterine, rupture, equine
Uterine rupture occurred in this mare presumably as a result of uterine torsion. She mare was kept in a pasture so the symptoms of that condition would not have been noticed. Because of abdominal enlargement however, the owner submitted this mare for a pregnancy diagnosis. On rectal examination, it was determined that a normal, non-pregnant uterus was present. This occurred before the advent of transrectal ultrasonography so the uterus could not be examined in detail. The mare was in estrus at that time and was artificially inseminated. Within 48 hours she developed peritonitis due to semen having escaped from the uterus into the peritoneal cavity.
At postmortem, a dead fetus, close to maturity was pulled from the abdomen of the mare (inset) and as shown in the main image, a rupture site was discovered in the ventral portion of the uterus. It was from this hole that the foal had escaped into the peritoneal cavity.
Image size: 1401 x 918px.
It is remarkable that the rupture site had healed remarkably well, leaving only a small hole in the wall of the uterus.
It is likely that this image was taken for or by Dr Tracy Clark of ISU. Here, it is used with permission from the Department of Theriogenology, Iowa State University, Ames Iowa. Chairperson; Dr Lawrence Evans. (levans@iastate.edu)
