Proceeding of Veterinary and Animal Science Days 2017, 6th- 8th June, Milan, Italy 
 

HAF © 2013 

Vol. IV, No. 1s   ISSN: 2283-3927 

   

 

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Keywords 

Dog, Neonate, Fetal fluids, 

Biochemical composition 

 

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR 

Barbara Bolis 

barbara.bolis@unimi.it 

 

JOURNAL HOME PAGE 

riviste.unimi.it/index.php/haf 

Abstract 

The full knowledge of the normal foetal fluid composition could be useful in the dog for the better 

management of newborns. The aim of the present study was to define the biochemical composition 

of amniotic fluid of puppies born by elective Caesarean section (CS) at term of pregnancy. The study 

enrolled 24 purebred bitches, classified into small size (<10 kg) and large size breeds (>20kg). All the 

bitches were healthy and clinically monitored from mating until parturition. For all the bitches, an 

elective CS at term of pregnancy was performed (Meloni et al., 2014). For each puppy, the amniotic 

fluid was collected, immediately centrifuged and frozen at – 20° C until analysis for Albumin, Amylase 

(AMY), Total Bilirubin, Cholesterol (CHOL), Creatine Kinase (CK), Alkaline Phosphatase, 

Transaminases, Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), Triglycerides, Urea, Glucose (Glc), Total Proteins, 

Creatinine , Lipase, Electrolytes, and Globulins. Data were analysed by Analysis of Covariance to verify 

the possible effects of parity, breed body size and newborn gender on amniotic biochemical 

composition. A total of 69 amniotic fluid samples were collected. The amniotic (mean ± standard 

deviation) and range (min-max) values for each parameter were defined. LDH value (p<0.01) and CK 

activity (p<0.05), as well as Glc concentrations (p<0.0001) were negatively influenced by the parity. 

AMY activity was significantly (p<0.05) higher in large sized (44.2±20.87 U/L) respect to small sized 

dogs (30.3±19.89 U/L), while a lower (p<0.05) CHOL amniotic concentrations were found in small sized 

(3.0±2.71 mg/dL) if compared to large sized (3.9±2.93 mg/dL) dogs. Gender of the newborn did not 

influence the amniotic biochemical composition. The preliminary results of this study the suggested 

that, in dogs, some amniotic parameters could be influenced by breed body size and by parity. 

 

References 

Meloni, T., Comin, A., Rota, A., Peric, T., Contri, A., Veronesi, M.C., 2014. IGF-I and NEFA concentrations in fetal 
fluids of term pregnancy dogs. Theriogenology. 8, 1307-1311. 

Biochemical composition of amniotic  

fluid in normal puppies at term of  

pregnancy: preliminary data 

Barbara Bolis1*, Magdalena Schrank 2, Jasmine Fusi1, 

Antonio Mollo2, Maria C. Veronesi1 

 

1 University of Milan, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Italy 

2University of Padova, Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, Italy 

 

 

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en