Placenta of the Lahille´s bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus gephyreus (Lahille, 1908) . A preliminary description.

MARIANA A. WOUDWYK ; JUAN P. LOUREIRO ; CLEOPATRA M. LOZA; GIMENA GOMEZ CASTRO; MARIANO SCIANDA ; ROCÍO HERNÁNDEZ ; ROMINA NUÑEZ FABRE; JULIO D. LOUREIRO; CLAUDIO G. BARBEITO

Bogota

Simposio; IX SLIMP-Latin American Society for Materno Fetal Interaction and Placenta virtual meeting.; 2022

Mariana A. Woudwyk 1,2; Juan P. Loureiro 3,4; Cleopatra M. Loza5,6; Gimena Gomez Castro1,6; Mariano Scianda 1; Rocío Hernández 1,6; Romina Nuñez Fabre3,6; Julio D. Loureiro3,4; Claudio G. Barbeito1,61 Laboratorio de Histología y Embriología Descriptiva, Experimental y Comparada (LHYEDEC), Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (FCV, UNLP), La Plata. Argentina; 2 Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Argentina; 3 Fundación Mundo Marino, San Clemente del Tuyú. Argentina; 4 Cátedra de Anatomía Descriptiva, FCV UNLP;5 Morphos, Laboratorio de Morfología Evolutiva y de Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, UNLP, La Plata. Argentina; 6 Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Argentina.7 Instituto de Investigaciones en Reproducción Animal FCV UNLP.TitlePlacenta of the Lahille´s bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus gephyreus (Lahille, 1908) . A preliminary description.Objective The aim of this work was to perform a macro and microscopic analysis of the structural characteristics of the foetal placenta of Tursiops truncatus ssp. gephyreus, Lahille, 1908 (Mammalia Cetartiodactyla Delphinidae), a vulnerable dolphin of South America Atlantic Ocean.MethodologyThe gestation of four females was evaluated using ultrasonography. After delivery, the foetal placentae were weighed, and their macroscopic appearance was described. Samples of different placental areas were processed for histological analysis.ResultsAll implantations were placed in the right uterine horn. However, as gestation progresses, the foetal sac also occupies part of the left horn. The placentation was diffuse. The foetal term placenta weighed 3,04±0,2 Kg. Macroscopically, it was characterized by its smooth surface (facing the uterus) and its pale pink colour. Microscopically, was a choriollantoic villous membrane with arborized chorionic villi. The trophoblast formed a cuboidal single epithelium. The subepithelial connective tissue had two different zones well differentiated; near the epithelium was a loose connective tissue with abundant macrophage and blood capillaries localized near of the basal lamina. But in the allantoic zone, a mesenchymal tissue with relatively large blood vessels was found. ConclusionsThe dolphin's placenta, as in other cetaceans, is a diffuse epitheliochorial placenta and like that of pigs and camelids since it has villi arranged throughout the entire chorion, without forming microcotyledons as it occurs in horses. Furthermore, the appearance is very similar to that of the subspecies T. t. truncates, which inhabits the northern hemisphere. However, in the latter the implantation occurs in the left uterine horn, unlike what happens in T.t. gephyreus in that it is always observed in the right horn.