Lecture 13 - Cardio 4

Question 1

What is a hydropericardium?

Answer 1

excess fluid accumulation within the pericardium

Question 2

What is an important consideration in consideing hypdropericardium post mortem?

Answer 2

There is a small increase in volume by transudation after death red discolouration is post mortem haemolysis

Question 3

What type of conditions result in a hydropericardium?

Answer 3

Part of generalised anasarca - common with cachetic syndromes - congestive heart failure, neoplasia etc.

Question 4

What is the name of the condition that is shown below?

Answer 4

hydropericardium

Question 5

Breifly describe the gross macroscopic appearance of a hydropericardium and provide an example of a condition that could cause this:

Answer 5

The serosal surfaces are smooth and glistening. Direct injury to the endothelium by circulatig toxins results in a protein rich fluid.

Question 6

What is name of the condition that is shown below? What are some examples of conditions that could cause this?

Answer 6

Hemopericardium - accumulation of pure blood in the pericardial cavity (contains blood clots) - blood stained serous fluid is usually a post mortem change

Specific species examples:

• Horses = rupture of the intra-pericardial aorta or atria
• Dogs = atrial haemangiosarcoma
• Pigs = rupture of the heart atrium or a coronary artery

Question 7

Breifly describe the aetiology of the condition shown below:

Answer 7

Cardiact tamponade - Volume of fluid that accumulates is less significant than the rate at which it accumulates. When the fluid is accumulating quickly the pericardium is put under tension - heart is compressed resulting in impaired atrial and ventricular filling. When the fluid accumulates slowly there is time for stretching and adaption

Question 8

What is the condition that is shown below and what are two potential causes of it?

Answer 8

Fibrinous pericarditis - results from haematogenous bacterial infections - lymphatic permeation from inflammatory process in adjacent tissue is also possible (in fibrinous pericarditis there is rarely any significant exudation of tissue

Question 9

What is the name of the condition shown below and what species is it commonly seen in?

Answer 9

Purulent pericarditis - involvement of pyogenic bacteria (occurs mostly in cattle as a result of traumatic perforation by a foreign body originating from reticulum) - the fluid accumulation appears as thin, cloudy exudate or creamy pus

Question 10

What is the name of the condition that is shown below and what has occured and what are the clinical consequences of it?

Answer 10

Constricitive pericarditis - progressive organisation of fibrinous/purulent pericarditis (impairs diastolic filling leading to right sided heart failure) - adhesions between visceral and parietal pericardium cannot be broken down by blunt dissection (in some cases the adhesions become mineralised)

Question 11

What is myxomatous valvular degeneration typically associated with?

Answer 11

Clinically it is associated with clinical left sided heart failure. The left atrioventricular valve is the primary site of the pathology, the right AV valve is less frequently and less severely affected.

Question 12

How does myxomatous valvular degeneration appear on gross pathology and what some possible complications may be?

Answer 12

gross pathology is characterised by nodular thickening of the AV valves which are opaque and white. Thickening of the chordae tenndinae at their insertion into the valves.

Possible complications include:

• Rupture of the chordae tendinnae
• Prolapse of the left AV valve into the left atrium
• Both with sudden acute and fatal heart failure

Question 13

What are some potential secondary complications that could occur as a result of AV valve insufficient MVD?

Answer 13

• dilation of the left atrium and ventricle with eccentric hypertrophy
• diffuse sub-endothelial fibrosis of the left atrium and left ventricle
• elevated streaks and plaques in sub-endocardium of the atria (jet lesions)

Question 14

Under what circumstances is the condition below typically seen?

Answer 14

Subendocardial fibrosis - seen whenever a ventricle or atrium is dilated for a prolonged period (an example is dilated cardiomyopathy of large breed dogs

Question 15

Name the condition shown below and state some pathological conditions under which this may be seen:

Answer 15

Endocardial mineralisation - Opaque whitish plaques or grains deposited in the endocardium

Dogs:

• Left atrium - trunk of the aorta seen with ulcerative endocarditis and renal insufficiency
• Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D analogue) rodenticide poisoning
• Accompanying endocardial fibrosis of dilated cardiomyopathy

Question 16

What is an example of a cause of sub-endocardial mineralisation in ruminants and horses?

Answer 16

Vitamin D toxicity

Question 17

What is the name of the condition that is shown below and what is the most likely aetiological agent?

Answer 17

Endocarditis - most frequently associated with bacterial or mycotic aetiologies (bacteria > parasitic > mycotic - in ranking of likelyness)

Question 18

What is the name of the condition shown in the diagram below?

Answer 18

Valvular endocarditis

Question 19

What are the clinical signs and sequelae that often arise from valvular endocarditis?

Answer 19

Valvular endocarditis is commonly fatal, often clinical signs may onyl be tested late in the disease. The sequelae are those resulting from valvular damage or embolism. Athritis is commonly observed in association with endocarditis in the dog

Question 20

What is the name of the condition that is shown below and what could cause this?

Answer 20

Mural endocarditis - extension of the walls of cardiac chambers - one of the more common forms of mural endocarditis occurs in renal failure in dogs and is termed ulcerative atrial mural endocarditis (more common in acute renal failure)

Question 22

What is the name of the condition shown below and what could potentially be a pathological agent causing it within horses?

Answer 22

Parastic endocarditis caused by the larvae of strongylus vulgaris occurs in horses.

Question 23

What species is myocardial haemorrhage commonly seen in?

Answer 23

• Patechial and larger sub-epicardial haemorrhags are common in horses that die naturally
• Incidence is somewhat lower in sheep and cattle
• Very rarely seen in dogs and cats

Question 24

What could myocardial haemorrhage (epicardial) be indicative of?

Answer 24

Sub-epicardial haemorrhage is common in cases of asphyixa or anoxia.

Larger ecchymotic hemorrhages may involve most of the epicardium as occuring in hemorrhagic diathesis (rodenticide toxicity)

Question 25

Name the condition that is shown below and provide an example of a possible aetiology:

Answer 25

Myocardial haemorrhage (Endocardial)

Examples of conditions that could cause this: acute cerebral injury, clostridial entertoxaemia (lambs and calves)

Question 26

For the heart below, breifly explain what has occured, the most common species that is affected and the clinical significance of the lesion:

Answer 26

Myocardial atrophy - cachexia - atrophy of the heart occurs in chronic wasting/debilitating diseases and malnutrition (ruminants are principally affected by atrophy and rarely does the atrophied heart produce clinical disturbance)

Question 27

What is the name of the condition that is shown below?

Answer 27

Myocardial necrosis - can be caused by nutritional deficiencies, chemical and plant toxins, ischaemia and metabolic diseases

Question 28

What is the cause of myocarditis?

Answer 28

Myocarditis is generally the result of infectious spread hematogenously to the myocardium and occurs in various systemic diseases

Question 29

What is the name of the condition that is shown below and what is the cause of it?

Answer 29

supprative/pyogranulomatous myocarditis - results from the localisation of pyogenic bacteria in the myocardium trapped in thromboemboli

Question 30

What is the name of the condtion that is shown below?

Answer 30

Necrotising and haemorrhagic myocarditis - clostridium chauvoei may prodcue necrotising myocarditis similar to typical lesion in skeletal muscle

Question 31

Name the condition shown below and provide an example of an agent that may have caused it?

Answer 31

Lymphocytic interstitual myocarditis - caused by CPV2 or porcine circovirus 2

Question 32

What is the name of the condition that is shown below?

Answer 32

Eosinophilic myocarditis - most common within bovine species (sarcocysts –> rupture of cysts)

Possible causes: hairy vetch or citrus pulp poisoning