Efforts should be made to collect the complete fetoplacental unit and a sample of maternal serum.
The placenta and foetus should be cleaned with water or saline, and chilled.
It is best to submit the whole calf and placenta to the laboratory for diagnosis. It is often more convenient to perform the post mortem examination on the farm and collect only selected organ/tissue samples for further laboratory examination.
Samples submitted to the lab should include these organs or sections of them:
Abortion may be caused by toxins (poisons) found in plants such as:
Locoweed (Oxytropis or Astragalus sp) contains an indolizidine alkaloid that can affect the corpus luteum, chorioallantois, and neurons, resulting in abortion or deformities.
Broomweed (Guttierrezia microcephala) ingestion can also cause abortion, as can coumarins from rat poison, many grasses, or moldy sweet clover.
Mycotic (caused by mycotoxins) abortions may be seen in increased numbers in spring, due to cattle consuming moldy feed contaminated with mycotoxins. These abortions are typically sporadic and occur from four months to term. Severe infection of the placenta will be seen, characterized by a leathery thickening of the areas in between the cotyledons. In about 25 per cent of the cases, the fungus invades the foetus, and red or white ring-worm-like lesions can be seen in the foetal skin.