Health Flashcards
What are the steps to a physical examination of the cow?
Tail end (BCS, HR, T, MM, faeces) Left side (rumen, ping) Right side Head & neck (salivation, oral cavity) Tail end again (milk & rectal) Then do limbs, joints, feet etc.
List some methods of examining the cows GIT tract.
Visual Palpate Percussion Ballottement Auscultate Rectal Stomach tube Rumenocentesis Exploratory laparotomy
What are risk factors for a displaced abdomen?
After pregnancy space
Stretched omentum
Low food intake
Gases trapped
What is left displaced abomasum?
Enlarged abomasum with fluid/gas accumulation gets displaced from right to left.
What are the risk factors and clinical signs of an LDA?
Risk factors - high producing dairy cows, high grain feeding
Clinical signs: weight loss, low milk, disinterest, low rumen contractions, ketosis, soft faeces, ping, can’t palpate on rectal, soft faeces
You hear a left sided ping during cow clinical examination. What could this indicate?
LDA
Atonic rumen
Pneumoperitoneum
Air in uterus
Differentiate by tube, rectal or fluid aspiration
How do you correct LDA?
Rolling cow
Open procedure (R Paralumbar fossa omentopexy or R Paramedian abomasopexy)
Need supportive care (Ca, fluids, NSAIDs, antibiotics)
How do you diagnose a right displaced abomasum?
Ping with percussion and auscultation + fluid splashing sounds.
What causes a right side ping? **
RDA, coiled colon, intussusception, dilatation & volvolus, colon distension, pneumoperitoneum.
How do you correct an RDA?
Medical treatment (spasmolytic, Ca, caffeine) Surgical intervention (Right omentoplexy with inverted L block 2% lignocaine)
How do you perform a right omentopexy?
Inverted L block with 2% lignocaine and 12mL flunixin analgesia.
Stitch 3 layers - peritoneum, abdominal m, external abdominal muscles, skin.
Give oxytetracycline, oral fluids
How do you identify a RDA (Right displaced abomasum)?
Pain, black faeces, large ping area, die with 48-96hours, abomasum is very dark.
What are the four types of abosomal ulceration?
Erosions/nonperforating ulcers
Ulcers with haemorrhage
Ulcers with peritonitis
Ulcers with septic peritonitis
What cows usually get abosomal ulceration?
Fibrous diet
High producing cows
What do you think when a calf has right side abdominal distension?
RDA Volvolus Bloat Intussusception Intestinal torsion
What is simple indigestion?
Change in food type or oral antibiotics causing upset gut flora.
Give uncomplicated feed like hay to fix.
Compare primary and secondary bloat.
Primary - pasture bloat can’t get rid of gas but no obstruction (froth can’t let go of gas)
Secondary - accumulate free gas in rumen more obstructive
More than one animal big distended paralumbar fossa. Increased contractions, get bloat line on post mortem on oesophagus. What are you thinking?
Primary bloat.
Frothy/pasture bloat. Can’t get rid of gas through the froth.
Impossible for cow to eruptate.
Stab between ribs & tuber coxae at point of most distension.
Treat by removing pasture, anti-foaming agents
How do you diagnose bloat?
Try to pass stomach tube to diagnose - strictures, lesions, actual obstruction check for gas coming out.
What happens if you pass tube easily and get no gas back?
Frothy bloat.
What is ruminal acidosis?
Ingestion of carbohydrate risk food.
Risk factors are low feed exposure, low NDF, fermentation rate.
What is SARA?
Subacute ruminal acidosis
What is normal rumen pH?
> 5.9
What is peracute rumen acidosis?
What is the risk of peracute rumen acidosis?
No feed exposure
Reduced NDF
Rate of fermentation
How do you treat peracute rumen acidosis?
Alkalinising agent
Free access grass hay
Rumen lavage
Describe SARA.
Subacute rumen acidosis.
Early lactation, low pH, diarrhoea, low milk, high lameness.
Do rumenocentesis.
What are herd signs of SARA?
Diarrhoea
Low milk fat
Cud chewing decreased
Lameness
How do diagnose of SARA?
Rumenocentesis
How do you prevent SARA?
Gradual adaption carb feeds
Good NDF
What is vagus indigestion?
Impairment of the flow (reticulomotility).
Get L shaped rumen.
Often caused by peritonitis, liver abscess, tumours etc.
Ingesta can’t exit stomach so it gets frothy.
What condition produces an L shaped rumen?
Vagus indigestion
What are the common important intestinal disorders of cows?
Bloat SARA Simple indigestion LDA RDA Peritonitis Vagus indigestion
What is the most common type of colic in dairy cattle?
Spasmodic colic.
Spontaneous recovery but severe signs give a spasmolytic like Buscopan.
When do you get cattle colic?
Bloat, acute rumen acidosis, volvolus, intussusception
What do hear when you have a intussusception?
Fluid splashing, inappetance and empty rectum
Where do intestinal phytobezoars commonly lodge and occur?
Very fibrous diets.
Lodge in abomasum and pylorus.
Get yellow mayonnaise faeces.
What is a common issue of caecum in cattle?
Volvolus, torsion & dilatation.
From hypomotility, low pH, fluid & gas acc.
High producing dairy cows and get ping.
Use good quality hay, coffee oil oral, Ca borogluconate, analgesia, drain the caecum.
What do you see with traumatic reitculpericarditis?
Muffled heart sounds Fever High HR & RR Anorexia Constipation Distended jugular.
Dull cow with watery foul diarrhoea. Calved in mid November a year ago. Off milk for 24 hours and has sunken eyes. What is your approach and any diagnostic tests you would perform?
Give fresh water with electrolytes and plain hay.
Antibiotics indicated due to diarrhoea - TMS.
Check abdomen symmetry, rumen contractions, pings, lymph nodes and rectal examination.
In the dull cow case adhesions were felt on rectal exam, what does this lead you to think?
Adhesions on rectal indicate peritonitis - everything sticks together due to fibrin present. Do abdominocentesis to confirm.
What does adhesions on rectal exam and straw coloured fluid on abdominocentesis indicate?
Peritonitis
What are some common causes of peritonitis in cattle?
TRP Abomasal ulcer perforation Rumenitis Metritis, dystocia, uterine rupture Penetrating wounds
How can peritonitis as sequale to caesarean be avoided?
Ensuring tight suture pattern
What are the different classifications of peritonitis?
Peracute
Acute
Chronic
Localised/diffuse
What would be the HR of a cow with:
a. localised peritonitis
b. acute diffuse peritonitis
c. peracute diffuse peritonitis
d. chronic peritonitis
a. Normal HR
b. 120
c. 80
d. Normal
How do you differentiate between the types of peritonitis?
Peracute - toxaemia, depressed, anorexia, drop milk, increase HR
Acute- reduced appetitie, fever, shallow respiration, reduce rumen contractions, reluctance to move, reduced faeces, fibrin.
Chronic - severe weight loss, tucked up, weak rumen contractions, diarrhoea, distended abdomen
Localised - pain on deep palpation, positive grunt test
What’s your prognosis for a localised peritonitis?
Okay with prompt aggressive treatment.
Treat with confinement, broad spectrum antibiotics, euthanasia and slaughter.
What is jejunal haemorrhage syndrome?
Massive haemorrhage in jejunum causing obstruction with blood clots.
Unknown cause maybe Clostridium.
Normal then sick - anorexia, drop in milk, dark bloody faeces.
Do enterotomy, massage, NSAIDs & penicillin.
What are the 8 steps to examine a lame cow?
Distance observation Swollen/painful legs External claw surfaces Lift legs and clean and check interdigital space Sand back superficial sole surface Check white line Hoof testers Check upper limb
How do you tell which leg is lame?
Head up indicates forelimb
Head down is the hindlimb
Where are most lesions causing lameness in cow?
Most lesions in claws
What is footrot?
Interdigital necrobacillus.
Mostly Fusobacterium.
Necrotising infection of skin and deeper soft tissue interdigital space.
You find a fleshy growth between the claws of a cow, what do you suspect?
Interdigital fibroma.
Just remove it with nerve block.
What is digital dermatitis?
Mild superficial infection that’s contagious, foul smelling and moist and red. Can become chronic proliferative and wart like.
How do we classify digital dermatitis?
MO-M4 lesion classification. M0 is health and then M4 is chronic.
Prevent with foot baths, topical oxytetracycline, good hygiene.
Why do you get a thin sole claw lesion?
Excessive wear more in pasture fed cattle (long distance walking, concrete, moisture, heifers, nutrition)
Describe bruised soles.
Usually thin soles aseptic traumatic pododermatitis.
Front claws in heifers, hind claws in cows. Use block or cow slip to rest the affected claw.
Compare sole abscess and white line disease.
Sole abscess- sole and wall seperates usually puncture wound. Get sliding foot, pain, fast onset.
White line disease- haemorrhage/abscess on white line. Tracking infection, very lame.
How would you treat most foot lesions?
If abscess release pus, flush and put on block/cow slip.
Mostly grind it back and put on a block.
Don’t bandage.
How do you diagnose and treat a sole ulcer?
Pododermatitis circumspicta.
1cm raw lesions concealed under horn layer at sole-heel junction.
From excessive pressure get defect and severe lameness.
Usually high producing dairy cows, laminitis and claw overgrowth.
Treat with concave sole, remove tissue, use block/cowslip and antibiotics.
How do you treat the following:
a. Vertical fissure
b. Horiztonal fissure
c. Septic arthritis
d. Laminitis
a. ‘Sandcracks’. Trim out cracks.
b. Grind all detached away
c. Amputate/slaughter
d. NSAIDS, claw trimming, prevent SARA.
What’s the difference between acute, chronic and subclinical laminitis?
Acute - CHO overload, pain, redness, distended veins
Chronic - deformed claws, grooves/ridges, toes are up
Subclinical- chronic poor quality hooves, haemorrhages, associated with SARA.
What occurs due to a circulation disturbance of the corium?
Laminitis
How do you examine the cow for upper limb lameness?
Watch walking, touch interdigital space, lift foot look at lesion, upper limb won’t lift and flex, feel joints, look at claws.
When does hip dislocation occur?
Parturition and early lactation where cows slip, fall, knocked down.
How can you confirm hip dislocation?
Deep palpation, dragging hindlimb.
Fix it with traction on a heavily sedated cow
When are you most likely to get sacro-iliac luxation?
Dystocia or milk fever. Get drooped back and pronounced tuber coxae.
What do you see with upward patella fixaton?
Patella fixed on upper femoral trochlear.
Jerky walk with leg stuck in extension.
How do you fix an upward patella fixation?
Sedate and do medial patella desmotomy.
What is a common cause of upper limb lameness caused by trauma?
Femoro-tibial / stifle instability. .
Ligament ruptures
When do you get septic arthritis?
From joint penetration, cellulitis, polyarthritis.
Get lame, recumbant, swelling, heat, pain, fever, muscle atrophy.
How do you treat septic arthritis?
Penicillin, NSAIDs, amoxicillin.
Maybe do joint lavage to remove exudate.
What is the difference between spastic syndrome and spastic paresis?
Spastic syndrome - crampyness, intermittent hindlimb contraction
Spastic paresis - affects hindlimbs 3-5m old, get excess gastrocnemius tone & contraction.
What is the brachial plexus composed of? What happens if you paralysis the nerve plexus?
Radial, ulnar and musculocutaneous nerves.
Get forelimb muscle paralysis.
What indicates a cow has radial nerve paralysis?
Recumbancy for long time on hard surfaces and blunt trauma.
Explain the grading system of sciatic nerve paralysis.
Grade 1- loss of motor function full pastern sensation
Grade 2- Loss function, loss sensation to pastern
Grade 3- Loss sensation tibial nerve no superficial sensation
Grade 4- Loss deep pain reflex no sensation.
What does the sciatic nerve innervate?
Flexing muscles of stifle, extend hock, flex/extend digits
What do you visually see with sciatic nerve paralysis?
See the cow in crouch position.
When do you get sciatic nerve paralysis?
During dystocia, injections/compression.
What does the femoral nerve innervate?
Quadriceps, psoas major and medial hindlimb skin sensation.
Explain grading system for femoral n. paralysis?
Grade
1- legs go out stand and walk normally
2- no patella reflex, legs behind when trying to stand
3- no patella reflex, can’t support weight
4- frog leg sitting
When do you get recumbency from excessive traction during dystocia and birth?
Femoral nerve paralysis.
What occurs with obturator nerve paralysis?
Common with dystocia or problem births. Get adduction paralysis so the cow ends up laying spread legged and can’t stand up.
How do you differentiate peroneal and tibial nerve paralysis?
Peroneal - knuckling fetlock and hock is extended
Tibial - dropped stifle and overflexed hock.