[Ultrasound studies for the demarcation of the spatial extension of teat stenosis and other teat changes in cattle]

Under field conditions in 63 dairy cows a stenosis of the teat was diagnosed in 60 cases and other teat anomalies were found in 5 animals. The results of a traditional clinical examination were compared with results obtained by diagnostic with a portable, 5 MHz linear scanner. The pictures found in unaltered teats were compared with pathological findings. As far as the localisation and extension of teat stenoses or lacerations of the mucosa in the teat is concerned, the accuracy of the diagnosis was improved by ultrasonography. Diagnostic ultrasound can be recommended as an additional diagnostic tool in certain cases of a stenosis or other anomalies of the teat in dairy cows.

Surgical correction of strictures of the large colon in three horses

An extensive stricture of the left dorsal colon in a Thoroughbred colt was resected and the colon was anastomosed. In two horses, circumferential strictures at the pelvic flexure 2.5 to 3 cm long were corrected with a modified Heineke-Mikulicz pyloroplasty technique. The horses were reported to be doing well at 6, 8, and 45 months, respectively.

Ultrasonographic evaluation of fetlock annular ligament constriction in the horse

The diagnosis of restriction of free movement of the flexor tendons through the fetlock canal usually rests on the characteristic clinical appearance of this condition, or airtendography. In a series of seven normal Warmblood horses and 16 diseased horses of various breeds, the efficacy of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of this condition was determined. In normal limbs, the annular ligament is a very thin structure usually not visible on sonograms. In diseased limbs, ultrasonography outlined flexor tendon injury, distension and thickening of the digital sheath, peritendovaginal tissue proliferation and thickening of the annular ligament. Four different types of constriction syndrome were noticed. The first type (nine cases), was characterised by thickening of the annular ligament and distension of the digital sheath; the second type (three cases) was dominated by distension of the digital sheath; the third type (three cases) was characterised by superficial digital flexor tendon injury and thickening of the annular ligament and in the fourth type (one case), the constriction resulted from distension of the digital sheath and extensive peritendovaginal tissue proliferation.

An immunofluorescence test to determine the occurrence of type II collagen in muscle biopsies from cattle with rectovaginal constriction

Type II collagen occurs in the muscles of rectovaginal constriction (RVC) affected and carrier cattle but not in normal cattle. Muscle biopsies from known RVC affected and carrier cattle and normal cattle were examined for the presence of Type II collagen using affinity purified goat anti-collagen II serum in a fluorescent antibody test. Type II collagen was consistently found in RVC affected animals (22 of 23 samples score positive). Rectovaginal constriction carrier animals had variable staining for the Type II collagen (25 of 47 samples scored positive). Some positive staining was also observed in the control animals (8 of 34 samples scored positive). Because of the variable occurrence of Type II collagen, the value of fluorescent antibody staining to identify RVC carrier animals is uncertain.

Tracheal compression secondary to abscessation of cranial mediastinal lymph nodes in a horse

Respiratory distress and laryngeal paralysis were found to be caused by a Streptococcus equi abscess of cranial mediastinal lymph nodes, putting pressure on the trachea at the thoracic inlet. Surgical drainage was required to relieve the compression, and long-term antibiotic therapy was used to treat the bacterial infection. The trachea returned to normal diameter but left laryngeal hemiplegia persisted. Peritracheal abscesses should be considered in the differential diagnosis of inspiratory dyspnea of the horse.

Ultrastructural evaluation of the acute encephalitis and hydrocephalus in dogs caused by canine parainfluenza virus

Intracranial infection of neonatal dogs with canine parainfluenza virus (strain 78-238) progressed from an acute phase of encephalitis to a chronic phase of internal hydrocephalus. Acute encephalitis was characterized ultrastructurally by laminar cortical necrosis, neuronal degeneration, neocapillary formation, reactive gliosis, and ependymitis. Viral nucleocapsids were seen in the cytoplasm of neurons. Ultrastructural lesions in hydrocephalic dogs were restricted to ventricular surfaces. The earliest light microscopic change in ependymal cells occurred four weeks post-infection and consisted of segmental loss of ependymal cells. Dogs killed at three and six months post-infection had quantitatively similar ultrastructural alterations in ependymal cells regardless of the extent and severity of hydrocephalus. The shape of these cells changed from cuboidal to squamous. There was progressive loss of cilia and cell organelles along with a concomitant increase of cytoplasmic filaments. Viral nucleocapsids and inflammatory cells were not present in convalescent hydrocephalic dogs. These results suggested that virus-associated hydrocephalus can occur in the absence of obvious viral persistence in ependymal cells and in the absence of inflammation in the ventricular system.

Stenosis of the cervical vertebral canal in a yearling ram

Stenosis of the cervical vertebral canal in a 10 1/2-month-old Suffolk ram is described. The vertebral canal was narrowed in a dorsoventral direction at the anterior and posterior ends of the cervical vertebral C3 and C4, at the posterior end of C2 and the anterior end of C5. The body of C3 was wedge-shaped in a longitudinal plane. The vertebral abnormalities are believed to have resulted from instability, perhaps exacerbated by fighting. There was a region of necrosis of the spinal cord at junction of C1-2. The animal showed sudden onset of quadriplegia from which it gradually recovered. The rams in the group were on a high plane of nutrition and two others were probably affected.

Mesodiverticular bands as a cause of small intestinal strangulation and volvulus in the horse

Volvulus of the jejunum and ileum in three horses was associated with intestinal strangulation in a mesenteric rent. The rent was in the jejunal mesentery at its point of attachment with an anomaly that was classified as a mesodiverticular band. The band also was attached to the dorsolateral surface of the jejunum, thus forming one side of a triangular hernial sac that was completed on the other side by the adjacent jejunal mesentery. Incarceration of a loop of small intestine in the hernial sac preceded rupture of the jejunal mesentery and subsequent intestinal strangulation. Surgical correction was successful in two horses and involved resection of the gangrenous intestine, then jejunocecal anastomosis. The third horse was euthanatized when intestinal rupture and peritonitis were found on exploratory laparotomy. Two mesodiverticular bands attached to the distal jejunum were incidental necropsy findings in a fourth horse.

The occurrence and apparent effect on reproduction of a constriction of the vagina in the merino ewe

The incidence and effect on reproduction of a constriction of the vagina was studied in 12 maiden merino flocks on 5 commercial properties in Western Australia. The overall incidence of the constriction was 11% with a range of from 2% to 27%. Ewes with a constriction of the vagina exhibited inferior reproductive capacity; fewer ewes lambed and of those that did fewer reared their lambs. A higher lamb mortality was recorded in lambs born to such ewes.