Correlation of Gestational Sac Diameter, Fetal Heart Diameter, and

Fetal Head Diameter to Gestational Age of Local Cats (Felis

Domesticus) Pregnancy in Indonesia

Analis Wisnu Wardhana

, Aulia Firmawati

, Albiruni Haryo

, Kevin Ersananda

, Nabila Safira

Tiara Balqhis

Department of Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Madicine, Brawijaya University

Department of Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Brawijaya University

Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Brawijaya University

Student of Program Study of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Brawijaya University

Keywords: Domestic Cat, Gestational Sac Diameter, Fetal Head Diameter, Fetal Heart Diameter, Ultrasonography.

Abstract: Fetal development in domestic cat can be monitored using ultrasonography to control viability, maintain the

nutrition care, and drug use. Due to control the viability of foetuses, this study observed the correlation of

gestational sac diameter, fetal head diameter, and fetal heart diameter compared to gestational age. This study

was performed by using 9 queens that divided into three groups. The first group measured the gestational sac

diameter, the second group measured the fetal head diameter, and the third group measured the fetal heart

diameter. Gestational sac diameter and fetal head diameter are measured by specific formula, while the fetal

heart diameter calculated by measuring point to point of heart edge and compare to head diameter to verify

the gestational age. As the result, the gestational sac diameter, the feal head diameter, and the fetal heart rate

of domestic cat in Indonesia have correlation to gestational age and also can be used to estimate the gestational

edge.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Felis domesticus is local breed of cat in Indonesia

(Madyantari, 2016). It has short hair with different

color which depend on the alel frecuency. The

average of body lenght of this cat is 76 cm with 2-3

kg of female body weight and 3-4 kg of male body

weight (Mariandayani, 2012).

Pregnancy in cats and fetal development can be

detected using several methods such as abdominal

palpation, radiography, and ultrasonogrphy. The

abdominal palpation is the cheapest way to detect

pregnancy but only can detected in second trimester

of cat pregnancy and has low accuracy so that can

make a false pregnancy. The radiography has more

accuracy but only can determine the number of

fetuses and can not determine the viability of fetuses.

The ultrasonography is a high accuracy method to

detect pregnancy because of ability to evaluate the

viability, organ development, and number of fetuses

(Purohit, 2010).

Investigation of fetal development has been

studied in recent years, but it is rarely investigated in

domestic cat especially in Indonesia. Early detection

and investigation of fetal development are important

to maintain the nutritional care, prevent of dangerous

drug use for the fetal, and the viability of fetal its self

(Machun eat al, 2011). This aim of this study was to

evaluate the correlation between gestational sac

diameter, fetal head diameter, and fetal heart diameter

to gestational age using ultrasonography.

2 MATERIALS AND METHOD

The study used nine samples of queens and it is

divided into 3 groups, based on gestational age (GA)

(0-20 days, 21-40 days, and 41-60 days). Every group

have different method to find accurated gestation age.

First group will use gestation sac diameter (GSD) to

find the accuracy gestation age with specific formula

(figure 1). The second group was measured the fetal

heart diameter. The fetal heart diameter can be

Wardhana, A., Firmawati, A., Haryo, A., Ersananda, K., Saﬁra, N. and Balqhis, T.

Correlation of Gestational Sac Diameter, Fetal Heart Diameter, and Fetal Head Diameter to Gestational Age of Local Cats (Felis domesticus) Pregnancy in Indonesia.

DOI: 10.5220/0009586300370040

In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Advanced Molecular Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering (ICAMBBE 2019) - Bio-Prospecting Natural Biological Compounds for

Seeds Vaccine and Drug Discovery, pages 37-40

ISBN: 978-989-758-483-1

detected by freeze the image (figure 2) that is

characterized as hypoechoic with anechoic lumen and

then measuring point to point of the heart image.The

last group was measured head diameter. It can be

performed by detect the line between the outer edges

of head (the fartest edge) that has highest (white)

opacity (figure 3) and the gestational age can be

measure using the specific formula.

Figure 1. Measurement of Gestational Sac Diameter

Figure 2. Measurement of Fetal Heart Diameter

Figure 3. Measurement of Fetal Head Diameter

3 RESULT

Formulation for calculating gestation age in the

quuens using extrafetal structures in early pregnancy

(0-20 days) is:

GA = 1,368x – 11,566

x = inner chorionic circumference (mm)

The gestation sac diameter of 3 queens were

evaluated. The earliest sign of pregnancy in queen

is the presence of gestational sac, which is appeared

like a small circular anechoic structure at

ultrasound. There were no significant differences

between the three cats for GSD for early gestation

age (Table 1).

Table 1. Data of Gestation Sac Diameter (GSD) (cm) of

Domestic Cat during Pregnancy

Gestation

Results

Cats

Name Sac Formula

(days)

Diameter

Gempi

1.61

GA = 1.368(16.1)

–

11,566

Titty 2.03

GA = 1.368(20.3)

–

11,56

Cippy

1.49

GA = 1.368(14.1)

–

11.566

Fetal heart diameter is measured by detecting point

to point of heart edge and compare to the head

diameter to verify the gestational age. The data were

collected in Table 2.

Table 2. Data of Fetal Heart Diameter (cm) of Domestic Cat

during Pregnancy

Cats Name

Days

Fetal Heart

Diameter

Gempi 21

0.6

Mimi

0.73

Meme

0.78

Correlation between fetus head diameter with

gestational age can be measured by the formula

below and the result is shown in Table 3.

GA = 25 x HD + 3

ICAMBBE 2019 - 6th ICAMBBE (International Conference on Advance Molecular Bioscience Biomedical Engineering) 2019

Table 3. Data of Fetal Head Diameter of Domestic Cat

during Pregnancy

Cat

Head

Diameter

Results

(cm)

Formula

ame

(days)

Putty 2.0

GA = (25 x 2.0)

+ 3

ana 1.76

GA = (25 x

1.76) + 3

Betty 2.1

GA = (25 x 2.1)

+ 3

4 DISCUSSION

Gestational sac was first detected between days 8 and

12 of gestation in cat (Lopate, 2018). As this study

performed, the gestational sac diameter can be

measured in days 8 of gestational age. The formula to

measured the gestational sac diameter in early

gestational age between 0 - 20 days indicates that the

alteration of gestation sac diameter will affect

gestational age of the fetus. But, the gestational sac

not too elongate, the result of gestation age of

measured gestational sac 1.41 cm is 8 days and in 1.61

cm the gestation age at 10 days, and the result of

gestational age when gestational sac diameter in 2.03

cm is 16 days. So, if the gestational sac diameter

elongate 0,2 cm then the gestational age will be

increased 2-3 days. This is also explained in recent

study of Zambelli et al. (2002) that gestational sac

diameter has correlation to gestational age.

The first detection of fetal heart rate by

ultrasonography can be measured between 16-18

days of pregnancy (Zambelli et al.,2002). The

measurement of heart diameter is helpful for

determining the fetal viability (Oral H et al., 2007).

Fetal heart diameter is important to be measured for

ealier detection of heart abnormalities and screening

of fetal congenital heart disease (Sylwestrzak et al.,

2018). In this study, we collected data of heart

diameter in last trimester of pregnancy cats and

shown that in days 21 the fetal heart diameter is 0.6

cm, in days 31 showed 0.73 cm in fetal heart

diameter, and in days 32 showed 0.78 cm in fetal heart

diameter. From that data, we can see that fetal heart

diameter was correlated to gestational age, in which

the greater fetal heart diameter can be measured as the

older gestational age. This study revealed positive

correlation to study from Oral H et al. (2007) who

reported that heart rate were correlated with fetal age

and can be used to estimate the gestational age.

Beside determine the gestational age, the fetal heart

diameter were correlated to fetal size also as the study

of Giannico, et al. (2015). The increasing of fetal

heart diameter indicates the incresing of fetal size due

the development of organs, in which the bigger size

of fetal needed more blood supply to the whole body

so that the fetal heart diameter is increasing.

Fetal head diameter can be detected at 24 days of

gestational age in cat (Macun et al., 2011). The

diference of fetal head size can caused the deviation

measurement (Nyland, 2002). The data of this study

show that in 47 days, the diameter of the head is 1.76

cm, in 53 days, the diameter of head is 2 cm, and in

55 days of pregnancy the diameter of head is 2.1 cm.

This collected data explained that increasing diameter

of the head is indicate that the fetuses are getting

older. In recent study explained that the fetal head

diameter had correlation with the age of gestation

(Macun et al.,2011).

5 CONCLUSION

Monitoring of fetus development is important to

evaluate the fetus viabilty. In this study can be

conclude that gestational sac diameter, fetal heart

diameter, and fetal head diameter have correlation to

gestational age. These parameters can be used to

estimate of gestational age.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We many thanks to LPPM and Faculty of Veterinary

Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya for providing

research assistance funds and supporting the

completion of this research.

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ICAMBBE 2019 - 6th ICAMBBE (International Conference on Advance Molecular Bioscience Biomedical Engineering) 2019