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
How can you stand when doing a mammary exam?
close to cow, like this ->
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)
