Studies in sex physiology. No. 10 : the situation of the developing foetus in the Merino sheep

Abstract

The authors were able to make use of a large amount of material from Merino ewes which had been used for fertility experiments by Quinlan and co-workers. They concluded that, not only in the ewe but also in the mare and cow, the situation of the developing fetus is not known with any certainty. Examination of the gravid uteri of the dead sheep indicated that longitudinal presentation apparently remained the same throughout a particular pregnancy whereas position and posture, apart from orientation, were likely to be changed, the former especially in early pregnancy and the latter in late pregnancy. Of 36 single pregnancies, the foetuses were placed in the right uterine horn in 21 cases and in the left in 15.