| Abstract: | A qualitative fructose test was adapted for a pregnancy test in cattle. Cervical mucus was heated 1-2 minutes in a corn syrup-water solution according to the method of Hopwood. In mucus from 320 slaughtered cows there were 8.5% false positives among 118 nonpregnant and 5.0% false negatives among 202 pregnant cows. 6 distinct positives, 3 equivocal tests, and 2 definite negatives were recorded in 11 cases of intrauterine death with pseudopregnancy. The mucus from 56 live cows produced 9.7% false positives and 12.0% false negatives. Fructose contents were determined quantitatively in 96 cervical mucus samples: 60 pregnant cows averaged 148 mg%; 36 nonpregnant 34.9 mg% (p less than .005); and pregnant in the first 5 weeks 111 mg%. This method was 90% accurate in the first 5 weeks. |
