Abstract:

Objective To establish a sheep mastitis model in order to investigate the three dimensional morphological structure of the sheep mammary duct and alveolus structure. Methods Three postpartum sheep were used to establish a model of the sheep mastitis.Staphyloccus aureus (10¹² CFU/L) was inoculated into the left mammary gland and the equal amount of physiological saline was injected into the right mammary gland as the control. The milk of left and right mammary gland was detected by Beijing mastitis test (BMT) in different times (12 hours, 24 hours, 36 hours, 48 hours). The both mammary ducts and alveoli were molded by a casting mould technique and observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Reselts The result showed the lactiferous duct was the first grade，including 14 branches. There was no connection between duct branches. The intersection angle between mammary duct ramification and the spindle extension was less than 90 degrees. The SEM found that the surface of right mammary ducts was smooth. There were many mammary alveoli at the terminal duct. The mean diameter of left alveolus was (79.03±14.91)μm. There were many ostioles on the surface of the left mammary ducts. The surface of the left mammary ducts was rough and most alveoli were atrophic. The mean diameter of left alveolus was (42.89±17.17)μm. Conclusion Staphyloccus aureus may destroy the construction of the mammary gland.

Key words: Mastitis, Casting, Alveolus, Scanning electron microscopy, Goat