Bovine fetal fluid cells in vitro: Fate and fetal sex prediction accuracy

Summary The in vitro fate of bovine fetal fluid cells and the efficiency of fetal sex prediction from cultures of these cells are studied using aspirates from live animals and pregnant uteri collected from the slaughterhouse. Over 70% of bovine amniotic fluid samples aspirated from pregnant uteri at the time of slaughter yielded cultures adequate for chromosome analysis, whereas only 10% of allantoic fluid samples produced growth of cells satisfactory for chromosome analysis. Fetal sexing accuracy was 100% in all samples studied. Seven readily recognizable cell types were noted in cultures of fetal fluid cells obtained at various stages of gestation. In a majority of cases, the in vitro morphology of cells from both fetal cavities was similar to that observed in primary human amniotic fluid cell cultures.