1. Fetal omphalocele in a common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).
- Author
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Smith CR, Jensen ED, Blankenship BA, Greenberg M, D'Agostini DA, Pretorius DH, Saenz NC, Noll N, and Venn-Watson SK
- Subjects
- Animals, Female, Hernia, Umbilical diagnostic imaging, Hernia, Umbilical pathology, Pregnancy, Stillbirth veterinary, Ultrasonography, Umbilical Cord diagnostic imaging, Bottle-Nosed Dolphin abnormalities, Hernia, Umbilical veterinary, Umbilical Cord abnormalities
- Abstract
A routine pregnancy ultrasound examination of a 30-yr-old, multiparous, common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, detected an approximately 16-wk (gestational age) fetus with an omphalocele, an abdominal wall defect at the base of the umbilical cord. Throughout the pregnancy, ultrasound allowed for identification of the omphalocele contents, which included a portion of the liver and intestinal loops. The maximum diameter of the omphalocele was 11.4 cm at an estimated 51-wk gestation. Color Doppler was utilized to study the blood flow within the omphalocele as well as diagnose an associated anomaly of the umbilical cord, which contained three vessels instead of four. Gross necropsy and histopathology confirmed the ultrasound diagnoses. This is the first report of an omphalocele in a T. truncatus fetus, and the first report of a fetal and umbilical cord anomaly diagnosed with ultrasound in a cetacean.
- Published
- 2013
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