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Freemartins in Sheep

Abstract

WITH cattle twins of opposite sex the female is in almost all cases infertile and shows varying degrees of masculinity, both in behaviour and in the morphology of the reproductive tract. Such females are known as freemartins. Swett et al. 1 consider that the freemartin condition is due to irreversible modification of the female by masculinizing secretions from the male fœtus. It is possible for any such secretions to pass between the two fœtuses as it has been known for some time that the bloods of twin calves are able to mix through anastomoses in the placental vessels2.

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References

  1. Swett, W. W., Mathews, C. A., and Graves, R. R., J. Agric. Res., 61, 587 (1940).

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MOORE, N., ROWSON, L. Freemartins in Sheep. Nature 182, 1754–1755 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/1821754b0

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