Put these in order…

A B

CD

1 2

3 4

The Case Study of the Retained Placenta

What is a retained placenta?

• Failure of the fetal placenta to separate from the maternal placenta

What causes a retained placenta?

• Dystocia (problematic birth)• Uterine Torsion (twisting of uterus causing dystocia)• Abortion (termination of pregnancy)• Stillbirth (fetus dies before birth)• Milk fever (low blood calcium levels and low

temperature)• Multiple birth (more than one calf or age of cow)• Gestation Length (too short/long of normal period)• Hormone Imbalance (oxytocin)• Anabolic Steroid and Mineral Deficiencies (carotene

and iodine)

Dangers and Milk Quality

• Death• Infertility• Endometritis (Inflammation of Uterine lining)• Mold Infections• Fatty Degeneration and Desquamation of the

Superficial Layer of Caruncle• Late Closure of Cervix• Contamination of Reproductive Tract (Coliforms,

Clostridia, Staphylococci, and Streptococci)=

High Somatic Cell Count in Milk

Treatment

• Manual Removal• Medication Without Removing

Membranes• No Treatment• Treatment by Tetracycline into Uterus• Penicillin (must dump milk due to

antibiotic residue)

Summary

• Many factors cause retained placentas

• Can have repeated retained placentas

• Compromises milk quality• Can effectively be treated with in

utero antibiotics or systemic treatment

References

• Wetherill, G.D. (1965). Retained placenta in the bovine. a brief review. The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 6(11), Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1696193/?page=3

Time for Jeopardy!

• jeopardylabs.com/play/retained-placentas