Journal of Veterinary Clinics (한국임상수의학회지)

The Korean Society of Veterinary Clinics (한국임상수의학회)
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Spalding's Sign in a Domestic Cat with Dystocia and Its Medical Management

  • Lee, Seok-Hee (Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and the Research Institute of Veterinary Science, Seoul National University) ;
  • Park, Eun-Jung (Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and the Research Institute of Veterinary Science, Seoul National University) ;
  • Jo, Young-Kwang (Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and the Research Institute of Veterinary Science, Seoul National University) ;
  • Hahn, Sang-Eun (Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and the Research Institute of Veterinary Science, Seoul National University) ;
  • Lee, Byeong-Chun (Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and the Research Institute of Veterinary Science, Seoul National University) ;
  • Jang, Goo (Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and the Research Institute of Veterinary Science, Seoul National University)
  • Received : 2018.12.05
  • Accepted : 2019.02.24
  • Published : 2019.04.30
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Abstract

A 2-year-old female Persian cat weighing 2.95 kg was admitted for dystocia. The levels of white blood cells and thrombocytes were decreased in blood analysis. In radiography and ultrasonography, there were four fetuses with no remarkable signs of blood flow and heartbeat. In particular, one of them showed symptom of Spalding's sign, which is a rare symptom that indicated overriding of the fetal cranial bones and shrinkage of the head with a decreased volume. It was reported that Spalding's sign is one of the strong indication of fetal death in human uterus and it occurs rarely with normal fetus without apparent reason prior to labor in human. This is the first report to provide the Spalding's sign in domestic cats and this will be applied in a strong presumptive evidence that fetal death has occurred with brain disruption sequence while pregnancy in domestic animals.

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References

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