Unit 2 - Forestomach and Abomasum Part 1 Flashcards
What is auscultation?
Just listening
What is percussion?
Pinging the abdomen
What is ballotment?
Pushing into the abdomen with a fist or a knee and feeling for a fluid wave, fetus, or something else
What is succussion?
Listening and percussion of the abdomen
What is on the left side of the cows abdomen?
Rumen, spleen, reticulum, abomasum, and superficial wall of the greater omentum
What is on the right side of the cows abdomen?
Proximal loop of ascending colon, cecum, jejunum, superficial wall of greater omentum, abomasum, reticulum, omasum, lesser omentum, gall bladder, right lobe of liver, caudate process of caudate lobe of liver, right kidney, descending colon, and descending duodenum
Describe the difference between a pear shaped abdomen and an apple shaped abdomen.
An apple shaped abdomen is enlarged on the dorsal side (typically on the left)
A pear shaped abdomen is enlarged on the ventral side
What are the layers of stratification in the rumen (bottom to top)?
Fluid, fine particles
Doughy, course roughage
Free gas
What is the purpose of the primary rumen contractions?
mixing of the ingesta
What is the purpose of the secondary rumen contractions?
eructation
How many contractions should the rumen have per 2 minutes?
2-3 contractions
What is the normal response to a withers pinch?
The cow will ventroflex - if shes in pain she won’t move
When using a speculum to try to empty the rumen of a cow, how do you measure it?
Measure from the opening of the mouth to the canthus of the eye with the hard tube - that is how deep you will go
How do you perform a rumenocentesis?
At the level of the stifle, draw a line forward. Poke about 2 inches caudal from the last rib
What are the components of rumen fluid analysis (i.e. what is all looked at)?
Color, smell, viscosity, pH, methylene blue reduction, and chloride level
What is the approach for an abdominocentesis in a cow?
Use the quadrant approach - take a sample from the lower right quadrant
What should you evaluate in your abdominal fluid sample?
WBC and differential count, total protein, L-lactate, and glucose
What findings are abnormal in an abdominocentesis analysis?
TNCC > 6000 cells/ul
TP > 3g/dL
>40% neutrophils, <10% eosinophils
Glucose < 30mg/dL, pH <7.3
What shape is the reticulum on ultrasound?
half-moon
Where is the reticulum located on ultrasound?
Immediately caudal to the diaphragm and along the ventral abdominal wall
What will you see in the reticulum on ultrasound?
Nothing - it will be gas
What is the normal motility in the reticulum on ultrasound?
3 biphasic contractions over 3 minutes
Where is a really good spot to look for hardware disease on ultrasound?
The reticulum
The spleen lives on the ___ side of the body.
left
What is the shape of the omasum on ultrasound?
It is crescent shaped with a hyperechoic thick line
Where is a good spot to visualize the omasum on ultrasound?
On the right side in between the 6th and 11th ICS
It is closest to the body wall at the 9th ICS
T/F: There is no apparent motility of the omasum in health
True
Why can you not visualize the laminae in the omasum on ultrasound?
Intraluminal gas
Where is the liver visualized via ultrasound?
It is located on the right body wall from about the last rib to the 5th ICS
What components of the liver should you be able to see via ultrasound?
Portal vein, caudal vena cava and hepatic veins, and gallbladder
Where is the abomasum visualized via ultrasound?
It is 10 cm caudal to the xiphoid in the R and L paramedian area and ventral midline - it is more situated to the right of midline
What does the abomasum look like on ultrasound?
The wall is a thin echogenic line, the contents are heterogenous with stippling, and you will occasionally see folds
What does the pylorus of the abomasum look like on ultrasound?
A spoke wheel appearance
T/F: You can see abomasal abscesses on ultrasound
False
Where can cross-sections through the loops of the jejunum be visualized via ultrasound?
on the right flank
What is used to anesthetize the paralumbar fossa?
2% lidocaine or 2% lidocaine with epinephrine
What are the toxic doses of lidocaine in cattle and small ruminants (her #s)?
10 mg/kg in cattle
5 mg/kg in small ruminants
What does the paralumbar fossa block?
Nerves T13, L1, and L2
What are the landmarks for the proximal paravertebral nerve block?
L1, L2, and L3
Feel for the dorsal processes with your thumb, then find the transverse processes.
Fan in front of transverse
What are the landmarks for the distal paravertebral nerve block?
L1, L2 and L4
Feel the transverse process and walk off the top and bottom
What are the layers that need to be cut through when you are doing an incision into the paralumbar fossa?
External abdominal oblique Internal abdominal oblique Transverse abdominal (thinnest) Peritoneum
What is the holding layer for the paralumbar fossa incision?
the external abdominal oblique
How should the peritoneum, transversus, and internal abdominal oblique closed at the paralumbar fossa?
PDS with a simple continuous
How should the external abdominal oblique be closed at the paralumbar fossa?
PDS with a simple continuous
How should you close the skin of a paralumbar fossa incision?
Ford interlocking, continuous, or cruciate will suffice
You should place a cruciate or a couple of simple interrupted at the ventral portion of the incision in the case that there may be a seroma - you can just open it then
What are the indications for a rumenotomy (rumenostomy)?
Removal of rumen contents
Vagal indigestions
Enteral nutrition
Blow holes for chronic bloats
Before opening the rumen during surgery, what must you make sure to do? Why?
Make sure to explore the abdomen before you open the rumen because this will become a clean contaminated surgery as soon as you open the rumen.
