suturing and cows Flashcards
How do you hold a Mayo needle holder?
ring finger and thumb in rings- two other fingers (middle and index) supporting length
How do you hold the Treves foreceps?
in the pencil grip
How do you ‘palm” a thumb foreceps or needle holder?
palm downwards (prevents thread getting caught )
when you thread a needle, you may lose the thread when suturing, how do you prevent this?
use ya lil finger like so
remember to suture towards or away from yourself?
towards yourself
How long should your suture ears be?
about this long
How do you do a square knot?
single x4
How do you do a surgeons knot?
double, single x 2
Where in the caudal region of the cow, if a good place for IM injections?
right next to the tuber coxae, (if you go further caudal you risk hitting the sciatic nerve)
INJECTION SITES FOR CATTLE- intramuscular
- caudal cervical muscle
- gluteals (Avoid the sciatic nerve area and care especially in calves and poorly conditioned animals)
- semimembranosus and semitendinosus (however these are generally quite dirty!!)
List Subcutaneous Injections in cattle
avoid the ribs- mid thorax- caudal to forelimb
Intravenous Injections in cattle
- jugular vein
- middle caudal vein (‘tail vein’)
The borders of the site for intramuscular injection using anatomical landmarks are …
1- the nuchal ligament
2- Ventral border = Spine
3- cranial border of the scapula
What are these 2 pelvic landmarks ?
the hook bone (left)
pin bone = tuber ischium (right)
where is her hand on ? (bone name)
head of the femur
BCS of this cow?
2.75 or lower
BCS of this cow?
Is the AHDB Body Scoring chart suitable for heifers?
no, usually undervalues them
What 2 ligaments do you use to assess BCS on a cow?
- sacral ligament
- tail head ligament
when the sacral ligament appears to disappear on a cow, what score would that cow definitely be above?
BCS 3
BCS of a cow is a score on what scale?
score is from 0-5
in increments of 0.25
when should the BCS of a cow be undertaken? (what moments in the dairy lifecycle)
- at calving
- 60d post calving
- 100d before drying off
- at drying off
what is the first step in determining a BCS score of a cow?
V or U?
If a cow has a V shape between hook and pin bones, what is the next step in helping us determine a BCS score?
are the hooks rounded or angular?
rounded hook= 3
angular hook= 2
are the pins padded? if yes 2.75
In a thin cow (ie BCS under 3), what are other physical factors that help us determine the BCS of the cow?
- palpate pin to determine fat coverage
- evaluate the ribs, are they covered?
In a cow > 3 in BCS what other factors can we look at to determine BCS?
tail head and sacral ligament, in this picture they are not covered so 3.25
What is the BCS of this cow?
tail head covered, sacral ligament barely visible so 3.75
What is the BCS of this cow?
sacral ligament and tail head ligament not visible so BCS is 4
What is the BCS of this cow?
BCS 5
tail head and sacral ligaments are covered
fat deposits are visible on rump and legs
tail head buried in fat
Overconditioned cows may incur what problems?
- metabolic disorders
- problems calving
Underconditioned cows may incur what problems?
- metabolic disorders
- decreased fertility
what is a normal RR for a cow?
12-36/min
distance exam of a cow- list criteria
- mentation
- behaviour ie chewing the cud
- standing ie. even weight bearing?
- RR/RE?
close exam of a cow- list criteria
- BCS
- on the back: take temp and check CRT on the vulva
- check paralumbar fossa for rumen fill, put fist into fossa and wait for contractions (3 rumen contractions per 2min) as well as measuring fill
- listen with stetoscope to rumen in the paralumbar fossa on left side
- move stethoscope around abdomen and flick (listen for percussive noise)
- listen in lung field (very small, cranial to forelimb)
- HR
- listen to trachea
- check hydration status on neck
- check eyes, nose..
- go to otherside (never underneath head) and repeat Heart and lung field
- listen and flick in the paralumbar fossa
- rectal and vaginal exam
- mammary exam
what side is the rumen on a cow (right or left)?
left
what is the HR of a cow
50-80 beats/min
How can you stand when doing a mammary exam?
close to cow, like this ->
what are you looking for on a cow mammary exam?
- heat
- swelling
- redness
What do you do after a milk strip on a cow?
- teat sealant to prevent infection
Udder exam- what are we checking?
- cleanliness- environment contamination
- if 4 quarters are of even size (no swelling or shrivelling)to compare sizes and feel for lumps and bumps
- check for teat lesions
what is this vet feeling for here?
the supramammary lymph node
PS there is one for each quarter (we re just feeling the hindquarters)
CMT examination steps
- prep a bucket ( paddle, paper towel)
- gloved hands
- use paper towels to cleans the udders
- in the bucket strip the milk for each quarter (to remove stagnant milk)
- take paddle with left hand and with right hand squeeze each tits milk into their respective well (2-3 streaks each)
- apply teat sealant
- check for clots in milk in paddle
- add CMT reagent and check for viscosity
what do we do a sterile milk sample for?
bacteriology
what do we do a california milk test for?
somatic cell count- milk quality
what equipement do you need to perform a CMT on a cow?
- Water/paper towels (if teats very soiled)
- Disposable examination gloves
- CMT Paddle (a hand held 4-well mixer)
- CMT Test Liquid + pipette
Teat dip
what is the grading scheme for CMT?
- negative
- T- trace
- 1+
-2+
-3+
If a CMT is negative, how many SCC is estimated?
<200 000
if a CMT is 3+, how many SCC is estimated?
5 million
if a quarter has a high SSC, what is the next step?
- take a sterile milk sample for test for bacteria present
Steps involved in a sterile milk sample
- (wipe down with paper towels if there is alot of dirt)
- surgical spirit empregnated cotton, clean the teat only
- strip teats of stagnant milk into bucket
- you want to unscrew lid of sample tube without contaminating (unscrew with left hand using little finger)
- express milk into sample tube
- use teat sealant
- label tube
on a sterile milk sample label what should be on the label?
- cow number
- which quarter
- farm name
- date
before doing a sterile milk sample, teat needs to be visibly …. and …..
clean
dry
after you have done a sterile milk sample do you put it into freezer or fridge?
fridge
Why dont you clean the entire teat when taking a sterile milk sample?
increases likelihood of contamination
