Publikationsdatenbank

Gynaecological examination of the female dog:
a tutorial for vaginal cytology and revised definitions of cells (2022)

Art

Poster

Autoren

Reckers, F. (WE 19)

Klopfleisch, R. (WE 12)

Belik, V. (WE 16)

Arlt, S. (WE 19)

Kongress

55th Annual Conference of Physiology and Pathology of Reproduction and 47th Joint Conference of Veterinary and Human Reproductive Medicine

online, 02. – 04.03.2022

Quelle

Reproduction in domestic animals = Zuchthygiene

Bandzählung: 57

Heftzählung: S3

Seiten: 19 – 20

ISSN: 0936-6768

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rda.14093

DOI: 10.1111/rda.14093

Kontakt

Institut für Tierpathologie

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 15
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 62450
pathologie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

In the context of gynecological examination of the female dog, vaginal cytology plays an important role. While collection and preparation of samples are easy, the evaluation of smears appears to be challenging. Inconsistent definitions of cell characteristics such as size, cornification and the appearance of the nucleus have been published. The aim of the project was to develop revised definitions of vaginal cells and a tutorial for cell determination.
To get a deeper insight into the use of cytology in veterinary practice, an online survey was distributed to colleagues interested in small animal reproduction. Participants were asked to define eight cells and answer questions. The agreement of the sixteen participants determining the cells was poor (k= 0.398). Eleven respondents were of the opinion that vaginal cytology has a low reliability. Nevertheless, thirteen participants stated to use this tool regularly.
Based on the feedback of the survey participants, information from scientific literature and own measurements, revised definitions of vaginal cells have been developed. In addition, a tutorial has been designed as a flowchart. It guides the user systematically through the evaluation of specific cell characteristics. An evaluation of the results of five raters with different experience levels led to a high agreement (k=0.858).
Vaginal cytology is a useful diagnostic tool in terms of cycle staging and gynecological disorders, but it seems helpful to standardize cell types.