VGO 511: Veterinary Andrology and Reproductive Techniques (1+1)

SEMINAL VESICULITIS

• Seminal vesiculitis is the most common condition affecting the gland of bulls, stallions and boars. It is rare in bucks and rams.
• Gross inflammatory lesions are found most commonly in the vesicular gland of all the accessory sex glands, and the ampullae.
• Seminal vesiculitis may be caused by a variety of pathogenic organisms. The most common cause is C.pyogenes. This organism may localize in the seminal vesicle from other primary, pyogenic, infective foci such as rumenitis, liver abscesses, traumatic gastritis, lung abscess or from a navel infection in young calf.
• It may possibly enter as an ascending or descending infection from the prepuce or from an ampulitis, epididymitis or orchitis.
• Infection may be spread in groups of young bulls by homosexual activities and contact of the penis and prepuce to the rear part of a bull that another had recently mounted.
• It is possible that certain organisms as C.pyogenes may invade the seminal vesicle secondary to a temporary infection with a virus or other agent.
• B.abortus is the most common cause for a seminal vesiculitis. B.abortus causes seminal vesiculitis in bulls.
• B.suis commonly localizes in the seminal vesicles in boars.
• Other organism found in infected seminal vesicles include: streptococci and staphylococci in bulls and boars. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycoplasma bovigenitalium , E.coli , Mycobacterium tuberculosis, epivag virus, IBR-IPV, P.L.T.agent or Chlamydia.

The antibiotics used in extended semen had no effect on Mycoplasma bovigenitalium.

• Seminal vesiculitis affects males of all ages. In bulls it has been reported as early as 10 months to 1 and 1.5 years of age.

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• Usually there are no external signs of the disease.
• However some males will show signs of mild peritonitis with an arched back, reduced appetite, pain on defecation or on rectal examination and hesitation in mounting and thrusting.
• These occasional signs are observed usually in bulls having abscesses of the seminal vesicle caused by C.pyogenes infection adjacent to the peritoneum.

On rectal examination seminal vesiculitis, especially bovine cases due to the C.pyogenes are characterized by irregular enlargement of the gland, fibrosis, peritoneal adhesions, loss of lobulations , fluctuation, and abscessation.

• In rare cases, fistulas occur due to rupture of an abscess into the rectum.

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Types of seminal vesiculitis (Galloway’s classification)

• The first type of bovine seminal vesiculitis was usually unilateral and due to chronic purulent inflammatory lesions with chronic interstitial changes and was commonly caused by C.pyogenes. Large clots or flocculi were commonly observed in the semen.
• The second type of seminal vesiculitis was usually bilateral and characterized by degenerative changes in the epithelium and inflammatory changes were variable. Culture of these vesicular glands were frequently negative for bacteria. Large amounts of feulgen positive chromatin masses were found in the lumen of affected glands and in the semen of the latter degenerative type of seminal vesiculitis. Semen may be viscid or “ropy ” .

Leucocytes in the semen may also come from other portions of the urogenital tract including the prepuce so their presence is not diagnostic of seminal vesiculitis.

• Semen quality will vary between affected bulls with a lowered motility of the sperm cells, an elevated pH, a higher catalase activity and a lowered fructose content.
• Although lowered fertility has been associated with seminal vesiculitis, many affected bulls breeding cows naturally have a good conception rate.
• Frequently bull with a seminal vesiculitis will have another focus of infection in the testes, epididymitis or ampulla.

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