Practical Exam Flashcards
During slaughter, an animal presents with a pronounced odour. What disposition would you provide?
Carcase and all carcase parts condemned. May be recovered for animal food.
If the odour was only slight it could be retained for further disposition after chilling.
An animal presents for slaughter looking like this among a mob of healthy cattle, what disposition would you provide?
Condemed - cachexic. Possibly has a chronic condition.
An animal presents for slaughter in a moribund state with subnormal temperature, weak pulse and disturbed senses. What disposition would you provide?
Animal Condemned
An animal presents for slaughter in a state of exhaustion but with no signs of acute disease. What disposition would you provide?
Animal should be witheld from slaughter and ante-mortem repeated after adequate rest
An animal presents for slaughter with a fever. What disposition would you provide?
Animal condemned.
OR withhold the animal until it has recovered provided there is no risk of spread of disease, no undue suffering and recovery is considered likley.
What are the ante-mortem dispositions?
- Passed for unconditional slaughter
- Restricted sluaghter - passed for slaughter subject to conditions specified by the vet/inspector (a ‘suspect’ animal)
- Withheld from slaughter
- Passed for emergency slaughter
- Condemned - rejected for slaughter
What are the post-mortem dispositions?
- Passed for human consumption
- Retained for final disposition
- Unfit for human consumption and may be recovered for animal food
- Unfit for human consumption and may be recovered for pharmaceutical material
- Condemned
What descriptors can be used when assessing post-mortem lesions?
- Number / percentage
- Distribution
- Colour
- Shape
- Content (granular, caseous, etc)
- Duration / time (chronic, acute)
- Location / tissue type
Describe this lesion:
Would it need to be condemned?
Focal, well-demarcated, yellow caseous mass contained within adipose tissue.
Caseous necrosis of fat.
No need to condemn - just trim.
Describe these lesions and what disposition you would provide:
Multifocal to coalescing, subacute (red), moderate, raised, fibrinous lesion on the pleura - pleurisy.
If diffuse carcase condemned.
Describe these lesions. What disposition would you apply?
Many nephroliths - condemn kidenys and if an evidence of uraemia carcase is condemned.
Why must you condemn an animal with evidence of uraemia and what signs can you look for to indicate uraemia?
Uraemia = toxaemia
Signs:
- kidney damage
- GI ulcers
- tar tar build up
- underweight
Describe these lesions. What disposition would you apply?
Multiple, pale, randomly distributed, 2-5mm, non-raised, chronic (as they are pale non-raised) infarcts - nephritis
Reject the kidneys - check for evidence of uraemia, oedema or abnormal smelling urine
Describe this lesion. What action should be taken?
Acute, gangrenous mastitis
Condemn carcase - toxaemic
Describe this lesion and what action should be taken:
Multiple small abscesses on one quarter of the udder - chronic mastitis
Trim
How would you describe these lesions?
What are they likely to be caused by?
Four to five dark red focal, chronic, hepatised, well-demarcated, depressed foci mainly in the caudal lobes - atelectasis and consolidation
Dictylocaulus Viviparous (lung worm) – pre patent larval stage
What are the 2 main species of lung worm found in sheep in Australia?
Dictilocaulus filaria and Muellerius capillaris
What is this? What action should be taken?
Taenia hydatidgena cyst
Reject all affected carcase parts
Which parasite causes this appearance in the liver of pigs?
What action should be taken for this liver?
Ascaris suum
Partial or total condemnation of the liver - depending on extent (purely for aesthetics)
What do you see here? What does it indicate and what action should be taken?
Cholefibrosis
Indicates liver fluke - condemn liver
What might have caused this in a liver?
What action should be taken?
Echinococcus granulosa
Condemn any affected organs
What is occurring in this kidney?
Amyloidosis - associated with severe inflammation
Condemn carcase
What test is this?
Methylene blue test for milk
- If viable bacteria are present the milk will become white again
- Faster change occurs, the more bacteria that are present
How can alkaline phosphatase be used to asses milk?
Alkaline phosphatase is present in raw milk
- if present in ‘pasteurised milk, the milk was NOT sufficiently pasteurised
- OR high number of bacteria in milk
What is this and what is it measuring?
Micrometer
- Measures albumin height
- Used to calculate Haugh Unit - indirect measure of the protein content of the egg
What is this? (left: beef liver & right: pork liver)
What parasite is it caused by?
Why is it important to recognise?
What action should be taken?
Beef measles (left)
- Taenia saginata - cysticercus bovis
Pork measles (right)
- Taenia solium - cysticercus cellulosae
Humans are the definitive hosts of these tapeworm.
Action:
- General infectation - condemn
- Light infestation - condemn affected viscera and freeze carcase -12oC for at least 10 days
What causes this human disease?
Campylobacter jejuni
What causes Pale Soft Exudative (PSE) meat?
Glycogen is depleted and lactic acid is still present in the muscle at slaughter so rapid pH drop occurs at post mortem metabolism
pH reaches 5.2-5.6 while temp is still >35oC
What causes Dark Firm Dry (DFD) meat?
Glycogen is depleted but body has sufficient time to clear lactic acid from muscle before slaughter– less lactic acid produced during post mortem metabolism
Meat has a high pH
What disease looks like this?
Enzootic bovine leukosis
- Notifiable
- Total condemn
How can you tell if an animal is truly emaciated and where would you look for signs?
Serous atrophy of fat
- Pericarium
- Around the kidneys
- Bone marrow
This was found in a sheep, what parasite is it likely to be caused by?
How can it be treated on-farm?
What is the definitive host of this parasite?
What action should be taken?
Taenia hydatigena
- Treat sheep with praziquantel or fenbendazole
- Tapeworm of dogs and wild carnivores
- Trim and condemn affected parts
Note the prominent lacteals in this specimen?
What could cause this?
What action should be taken?
Johne’s Disease
Condemn intestines and mesentery
What causes blood splashing?
Excessive stun to stick interval
What is pictured here?
What action should be taken?
Pigment in heart muscle - lipofusion
Not a problem but condemn the heart as it isn’t ‘pretty enough’ to eat
In a case of pericarditis, what action should be taken?
Not always systemic
If chronic - condemn only heart
If acute with signs of spread - condemn carcase
This was found in a liver, what is it likely to be caused by?
What action should be taken?
Echinococcus granuloma
Condemn the liver
These lesions where found in a sheep heart. Which parasite has caused them?
What is the definitive host of this parasite?
How can you treat the host?
Taenia ovis / cysticercus ovis
- dogs are the definitive host
- treat with praziquantel
What action should be taken in an animal with evidence of listeriosis?
Condemn carcase
What is occuring here?
By what route was infection most likely?
Pyelonephritis
Seen in medulla, cortex and pelvis - ascending infection
What is occuring here?
By what route was infection most likely?
Pyelonephritis
‘embolic shower’ - haematogenous spread
What condition is present in this cow’s skull?
What action should be taken?
Actinomycosis - Actinomyces bovis
If confined to head - condemn head only
If spread (lungs, etc) - condemn whole animal
What is causing this lesion in the tongue?
What action should be taken?
Actinobacillus lignieresii
If confined to head - condemn head only
If spread - condemn whole animal
