ESTROUS CYCLE COLPOCYTOLOGY IN CAPTIVE PACAS (Agouti paca, Linnaeus, 1766).

M. R. NOGUEIRA, T. G.LO, G.LO, G.L. GIANNONI, M.

To study the reproductive aspects of captive Agouti paca, we analyzed the vaginal cells of six non-pregnant, mature pacas submitted to exfoliative colpocytology. The pacas were held in captivity at the Center for Studies and Research on Wild Animals (CEPAS) of the College of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences (FCAV), São Paulo State University(Unesp), Campus of Jaboticabal, Brazil. The study of estrous cycle was based on the identification and counting of the vaginal wall epithelial cells, as well as the leukocyte, mucus, and debris indexes. Four phases of the estrous cycle were identified. The mean and standard deviation for the estrous cycle duration was 33.4 ± 4.4 days. Superficial cells were predominant in the estrous phase, whereas intermediate cells and parabasal cells were identified in the proestrus, metestrus and anestrus. Metestrus was characterized by a great number of intermediate and parabasal cells, metestrum cells and foam cells, besides leucocytes. During anestrus, there was a prevalence of parabasal cells, debris and a small number of intermediate cells, metestrum cells and leucocytes. The vaginal exfoliative colpocytology allowed identifying the epithelial cells and detecting cellular changes that occur during the estrous cycle. It proved to be useful in the identification of estrous and the mean duration of the estrous cycle in captive pacas. KEY -WORDS: