Page 125 - Aussie Magazine - 2023 Issue 2

Did you know that

dogs can be

hermaphrodite

too…

XX TRUE HERMAPHRODITE
One of my favorite things in veterinary medicine During the “spay” The patient was found to
is surgery, specifically neonatal/pediatric and have ovotestes. Ovotestes are a mixture of an
urogenital surgery. Knowing this, you can imagine ovary and a testicle. The patient also had male
how excited I was when this rare case appeared components such as a pampiniform plexus (a
on my schedule. This is a 3-4 y/o mixed breed dog vascular network), an epididymis, and a vas
that came to us through a rescue organization. deferens. The vas deferens was running along the
Text written by: Brittany Shumack, DVM. USA. https://villagecentervet.com
The patient presented with a consult as a possible fully developed uterus the patient had. The patient
hermaphrodite/spay. The patient had a fully also had oviducts that could be traced back to the
developed vulva with an enlarged clitoris, similar part of the ovotestes that mostly resembled the
to a penis. The enlarged portion contained a ovary.
boney structure, which in a male would be similar
to a structure called an OS penis. The enlarged The most important and difficult part of the surgery
Article and photos are used with authors permission
structure was irritating to the patient, it was very was removal of the boney structure (the os penis).
sensitive and causing discomfort. On exam the This is the part of the enlarged clitoris that was
patient seemed to have a fully developed vagina, causing the most discomfort. The os penis was
but did have a significant vaginal stricture. carefully dissected and removed, The extra tissue
present was then ligated and removed.

A true hermaphrodite is rare and is caused by
a failure of regression of the embryonic tissue
that develops the uterus. It is unknown why this
happens, but is thought to be due to a delayed
signal from the testicle.

A Worldwide Magazine for the Aussie • Issue 2/2023 | 125