TRIGLYCERIDES AND FATTY ACIDS 151 



glycogen requirement is greatest/^^ During pregnancy disease in the ewe, 

 the hypoglycemia and acetonemia are similar to those occurring in ketosis 

 in the cow.'"'* Table 3 shows the values for blood sugar and blood ketones 

 of normal pregnant ewes, of ewes in which an experimental ketosis was 

 produced during later pregnancy either by fasting or by feeding rations low 

 in caloric value, and of animals which developed a spontaneous ketosis. 



Table 3 



Total Ketone Bodies and Sugar in the Blood of Healthy Ewes During Ad- 

 vanced Pregnancy, and in Ewes Affected with Experimental or Clinical 

 Ketosis (Pregnancy Disease)" 



" Adapted from J. Sampson, Kelosis in Experimental Animals, Univ. Illinois Agr. 

 Exptl. Sta., Bull. No. 524, 407-470 (1947), p. 442. 



Data similar to those recorded in Table 3 have been reported by other 

 workers. ^''^■^*°'^*^''**^ The levels of ketonuria observed in ewes and cows are 

 similar. Thus, Sampson et a/."*^^ reported a value of 736 mg. % of total 

 ketone bodies in mild pregnancy disease in the ewe, while the urine of ewes 

 affected with severe ketosis may contain as much as 1400 mg. per liter. *^^ 



The cause of ketosis in ewes is believed to be traceable to the lack of 

 sufficient carbohydrate in the diet. Thus, in treatment of this condition, 

 the administration of large doses of carbohydrate is recommended. *^®'^''* 

 Although it has been suggested that pregnancy disease in sheep may be the 

 result of a deficiency in vitamin A,^" this hypothesis is open to question. 

 In the first place, Barron,'**^ and Underwood and co-workers,^*^ demon- 

 strated that the level of vitamin A in the livers of ewes having pregnancy 

 disease is practically the same as that in the livers of normal ewes. Values 

 are high in both cases. Moreover, in view of the negative results obtained 



*^ J. Sampson and L. E. Boley, Cornell Vet., 30, 392-401 (1940). 

 ^3« H. S. Cameron and H. Goss, /. Am. Med. Assoc, 96, 165-170 (1940). 

 "7 J. O. Fo.ss and D. F. Eveleth, Vet. Med., 39, 313-315 (1944). 

 "« N. S. Barron, Vet. Record, 54, 29-39 (1942); Chem. Abst., 38, 1770 (1944). 

 «9 E. J. Underwood, D. H. Curnow, and F. L. Shier, Australian Vet. J., 19, 164-173 

 (1943); Vet. Record, 56, 222 (1944). 



