French bulldog bitch with the clitoral hypertrophy – a case report

Abstract

Congenital morphological anomalies of the genital tract in dog are difficult to diagnose. Some of them may not cause any clinical signs and usually are diagnosed during gynecological examination of a breeding dogs when presented with fertility disorders. A 7.5-month-old French bulldog bitch was referred to the clinic because an owner noticed a masslike tissue protrusion through the vaginal vault. An enlarged clitoris was confirmed under palpation. Two weeks later the bitch came in heat – small amount of bloody discharge was noticed, and blood progesterone was 3,1 ng/ml on day 5 after the beginning of “heat”. During ultrasonography examination there was a suspicion of intraabdominal testes. The bloody discharge disappeared, and progesterone concentration dropped to basal level (<1 ng/ml) on day 8. MRI examination revealed the presence of os penis and abdominal testes just caudal to kidneys. After 2-3 weeks following signs of heat, owner noticed clitoral erection from time to time. Two months later laparoscopy was performed and two testicles and uterus masculinus were resected. Epididymis was well developed in one testis and underdeveloped on the other side. All organs were sent for histopathological examination. Results showed the uterine tissue in tubular genitalia and only testicular tissue in testes, without presence of ovarian follicles. In this case chromosomal analysis was not done but the dog was presumed to have XX karyotype. Morphological reproductive abnormalities in dogs with female XX chromosomes set can be characterized by the presence of testes or ovotestes, uterus, oviducts and enlarged clitoris [1,2]. Although no ovarian tissue was found in this case, it cannot be completely ruled out that small fragments may have been present, since animal showed signs of heat and increased level of progesterone. Serial sections of the gonads would be needed for further studies to rule out presence of ovarian tissue.