HISTOCHEMICAL AND HISTOENZYMIC STUDIES ON CAPRINE MAMMARY-GLAND FOLLOWING INDUCED MYCOPLASMA F38 MASTITIS

The histochemical and histoenzymic studies were conducted on mammary g lands of 14 lactating goats. The right mammary halves of 12 goats were intracisternally inoculated with I mi of Mycoplasma F38 culture conta ining approximately 10(6) cfu, whereas. their left halves received 1 m i of sterile PPLO broth only. The remaining 2 goats' served as uninfec ted controls. All the infected goats developed acute mastitis in their right mammary halves which subsequently turned chronic characterized by marked decrease in their size and secretions. Histopathologically t here was acute purulent mastitis initially followed by fibroplasia in the infected mammary halves. The histochemical (lipids) and histoenzym ic (acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, succinic dehydrogenase, la ctate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glutanic de hydrogenase) changes were suggestive of altered fat, carbohydrate and protein metabolism in the infected mammary halves.