Congential Defects

Question 1

What is a cleft palate?

Answer 1

Failure of palatine arches to fuse anywhere along the length of the hard or soft palate

Question 2

What are foetal monsters?

Answer 2

Grotesquely abnormal (oversized) foetus not usually viable

Question 3

What are flat puppies (swimmers)?

Answer 3

Puppies with flattened chests and bowed front legs, usually leads to respiratory problems

Question 4

What is microphthalmus?

Answer 4

Abnormally small eyeball

Question 5

What is Arresia if terminal anus?

Answer 5

Animal born without an anus

Question 6

What is the usual outcome for animals born with cleft palate?

Answer 6

In most cases they are euthanised due to problems with suckling and risk of milk aspiration

Question 7

What is the usual outcome of animals with hernias?

Answer 7

Surgical repair or euthanasia for inoperable hernias

Question 8

What is the usual outcome of foetal monsters?

Answer 8

Usually born dead, or euthanised if it survives pregnancy and birth

Question 9

What is the usual outcome of flat puppies?

Answer 9

Physical therapy to correct the condition

Question 10

What is the usual outcome of microphthalmus?

Answer 10

Leads to vista impairment and even blindness, no treatment, do not breed

Question 11

What is the ductus arteriosis?

Answer 11

A blood vessel that connects the pulmonary artery to the aorta, allowing blood to bypass the lungs since the foetus does not use its lungs for gaseous exchange. This usually closes at birth when the neonate takes its first breath

Question 12

What is patent ductus arteriosis (PDA)?

Answer 12

The ductus arteriosis fails to close, blood is shunted from the aorta into the pulmonary artery and further into the lungs overloading the lungs with blood. Can cause heart failure and eventually death.

Question 13

What are the clinical signs of Patent ductus arteriosis?

Answer 13

Loud machinery-type heart murmur, poor growth or heart failure.

Question 14

What are the treatment options for patent ductus arteriosis?

Answer 14

Requires surgical correction by a specialist vet, prognosis is usually very good once treated.

Question 15

What is Aortic stenosis or pulmonic stenosis?

Answer 15

A narrowing of the aortic if pulmonic valves, obstructing blood flow leaving the ventricles, leading to enlargement of the myocardium as it has to work harder to pump blood.

Question 16

What are the clinical signs of aortic or pulmonic stenosis?

Answer 16

Heart mummer, syncope, and heart failure

Question 17

What are the treatment options of aortic stenosis?

Answer 17

Can only be treated symptomatically, prognosis is poor

Question 18

What are the treatment options for pulmonic stenosis?

Answer 18

Can be treated with balloon velvuoplasty, prognosis is poor

Question 19

What is mitral or tricuspid valve dysplasia?

Answer 19

Malformation of the mitral valve causing regurgitation of blood back into the left atrium leading to left-sided heart failure and/or malformation of the tricuspid valve causing blood to regurgitate back into the right atrium leading to right sided heart failure

Question 20

What are the clinical signs of mitral or tricuspid valve dysplasia?

Answer 20

Heart murmur and heart failure

Question 21

What are the treatment options of mitral or tricuspid valve dysplasia ?

Answer 21

Treatment is symptomatic

Question 22

What is ventricular septal defect or atrial septal defect?

Answer 22

Known as “holes in the heart” connecting either the left and right aorta or the left and right ventricles, causing blood to flow through the heart abnormally, leading to heart failure

Question 23

What is the most common heart defect in the cat?

Answer 23

Ventricular septal defect

Question 24

What are the clinical signs of ventricular septal defect or atrial septal defect?

Answer 24

Heart mummer and congestive heart failure

Question 25

What are the treatment options of ventricular septal defect or atrial septal defect?

Answer 25

Treatment is symptomatic, animals with small holes can lean normal lives, the larger the hole the more guarded the prognosis

Question 26

What is tetralogy of fallot?

Answer 26

The term used to describe a patient with the following combination of hear defects:
Ventricular septal a defect 
Pulmonic stenosis 
Compensatory right sided hypertrophy 
Over riding aorta

Question 27

What is over-riding aorta?

Answer 27

The aorta is shifted slightly to the right abs lies directly above the ventricular septal defect. The aorta receives blood from both the right and left ventricles, mixing oxygenated and deoxygenated blood

Question 28

What are the clinical signs of tetralogy of fallot?

Answer 28

Cyanosis and blood bypasses the lungs. Prognosis is poor

Question 29

What is persistent right aortic arch - vascular ring anomaly?

Answer 29

Malformation if the major arteries which entrap the oesophagi leading to regurgitation of food and failure to thrive and even aspiration pneumonia

Question 30

What are the treatment options for persistent right aortic arch - vascular ring anomaly?

Answer 30

Surgical correction, often successful

Question 31

What are teratogens?

Answer 31

Cross the placenta and can cause DNA mutations in the foetus

Question 32

What are multifactorial disorders?

Answer 32

Cause by the interaction of environment and genes

Question 33

What are idiopathic defects?

Answer 33

Have no known cause, theses ears the largest group if congenital defects

Question 34

What are congenital defects?

Answer 34

Present at birth
May have been inherited
May have been as a result of an environmental influence on the embryo
Can be visible or hidden
Can be related to genetic or chromosomal abnormalities