Functional pathology of the uterine blood flow in the mare-pathohistologic and Doppler sonographic investigations

摘要

In routine investigations of equine endometrial biopsies degenerative alterations of the blood vessels occur with a frequency of 80 percent, varying in quantity and quality [1]. The majority of arterial and venous angioses are characterized by a mild to moderate increase of collagenous and elastic fibers in intima, media, and adventitia. Severe and destructive vascular lesions are rare and only present in multiparous mares with at least five foalings [1]. In contrast to detailed investigations of endometrial vascular alterations [1-4], morphological studies concerning the large arteries, which supply the uterus are not available in the mare until now. Clinically, the extrauterine arteries have been examined by means of transrectal Doppler ultrasound. Bollwein et al. [5] describe a continuous increase of the uterine blood flow in the A. uterina during pregnancy. Investigations of Stolla and Bollwein [6] and Blaich et al. [7] revealed that mares suffering from moderate to severe endometrial alterations have a significantly higher vascular resistance compared to those with absent or mild endometrial alterations.