Urinary Tract Disease in Reptiles and Birds Flashcards
Outline Avian Renal Anatomy?
- Large, paired, lobulated kidneys (1-2.6% of bwt)
- Surrounded by abdominal air sac
What are the two types of nephron in the reptile?
- Reptile Type → no loop of Henle; in cortex only
- Mammalian Type → loop of Henle extends from cortex to medulla
- Birds have limited ability to concentrate urine
Do birds have a urinary bladder?
- Lack a urinary bladder
- Ureters empty into the cloaca
- Reflux of urine into coprodeum and colon aids further water reabsorption. Mixing of urine with faeces which complicates urinalysis
How does the blood supply to the kidney differ in the avian?
They have a renal portal system (are able to divert blood away or through kidney has effects on drug metabolism)
What do some desert and aquatic species have?
Salt glands
How is uric acid excreted in birds?
Nitrogenous waste excreted as uric acid
How do the nerves run pass the kidney in the avian?
Nerves run through and dorsal to kidneys (ischiatic nerve particularly therefore enlargement of kidney has direct effect on nerves that supply hindlimbs)
Common causes of primary renal disease in the avian include:
- Hypovitaminosis A (primary cause diet)
- Hypervitaminosis D3 (Usually comes about as innapropriate supplementation)
- Dehydration (not eating or drinking)
- Heavy metal toxicity (parrots and raptors and water foul from things like lead etc)
- Infection (either extending from ureter, extension of air sacculitis or systemic spread)
- Neoplasia (20% all male budgies develop renal neoplasia in lifetime (
- Amyloidosis (predominantly in falcons after bumblefoot) & Lipidosis (merlins commonly get)
What is a hallmark of renal disease in birds?
Hallmark of renal disease in birds is gout
What are the two different kinds of gout?
Visceral gout → accumulation of uric acid tophi in soft tissues → liver, pericardium and kidney (effects functioning of organs)
Articular gout → accumulation of uric acid tophi in and around joints; often feet and hocks (clinically seen as large white swollen nodules around the joints)
- Occurs when uric acid secretion is decreased and/or uric acid production is increased.
- As a rule can get birds with both forms.
What are the causes of decreased Uric Acid Secretion in avians?
- Dehydration (results in sludging of urine so less flow)
- Renal tubular disease (swollen and disease reducing movement if uric acid)
- Hypovitaminosis A → squamous metaplasia of ureteral mucosa and collecting ducts
- Infection/inflammation (blockage e.g septic thrombi)
- Post-renal obstruction e.g. uroliths, egg binding (more caudal towards cloacal directly obstruct outflow of ureters)
What causes Increased Uric Acid Production?
•Excess dietary protein
Avian Renal Disease: Clinical Signs
- Early signs of disease are often subtle
- Advanced disease → non-specific signs → fluffed-up, lethargic, anorexic
- If they don’t have the energy to pretend to be well then they are at deaths door
Avian Renal Disease: Clinical Signs
More specific clinical signs may include:
- PU.PD (loss of concentrating ability in the kidney)
- Unilateral or bilateral hindlimb paresis/paralysis
- Haematuria
- Feather picking/plucking over kidneys
- Articular (& visceral) gout (remember can get articular gout without kidney disease)
BEFORE HANDLING PATIENT for Clinical Examination need to?
- Assess patient from afar before it starts pretending it is ok when you get close
- Ensure have everything to hand
- Inspect cage, droppings, food etc
- History from owner → husbandry, diet, supplements, treatments, treatments from any other vets, other birds…
- If bird looks really awful may need to place in warm, humidified oxygen cage first!
What would help if the owner brought this to consult?
Get owner to bring cages with them as the cage can be very informative how that bird lives.
In these pics can see cage covered in feaces and can see is only being fed pure sunflower seeds. So can see poor nutrition and environment immediately.
Birds dont produce bilirubin what do they produce?
biliverdin
What can be seen here?
Haemoglobinuria (in this case caused by led poisoning)
What can be seen here?
Diarrhoea & Biliverdinuria
What can be seen here?
Dehydration & Cyanosis
Lemon shaped eye signs of ill bird.
What can be done here?
Ulna Vein (CRT can be done here)
What can be seen here?
Flaky beak poor nutrition
What can be seen here?
Rhinoliths (squamous metaplasia due to poor nutrition)
Discuss Avian Renal Disease: Diagnostic Tests with regards to uric acid?
Uric Acid
- Elevated only when >70% function lost
- Mild to no elevation in dehydration
- Post-prandial rise in carnivorous birds → fast for 24hrs before sample in these species
Discuss Avian Renal Disease: Diagnostic Tests with regards to urea and creatinine?
Urea
•May help assess dehydration but NOT kidney dysfunction
Creatinine
•Not very useful in birds
Discuss Avian Renal Disease: Diagnostic Tests with regards to phosphorus and calcium?
Phosphorus
•May be elevated in renal failure (& haemolysis)
Calcium
- May be reduced in renal failure.
- Measure ionised and total calcium in conjunction with albumin
Discuss Avian Renal Disease: Diagnostic Tests with regards to potassium and sodium?
Potassium
•Elevated in acute renal failure (& haemolysis). Normal level in potassium is much lower in birds than mammals
Sodium
- Hypernatraemia in dehydration
- Hyponatraemia in renal failure
Discuss Urinalysis in Avian Renal Disease?
- Difficult to obtain ‘pure’ sample → try to collect under perch on clean greaseproof paper or similar
- Normal urine contains crystals and bacteria
- Look for renal casts, abnormal cells, glucose etc
- Specific gravity range 1.005-1.020 but is species specific and not very helpful in most cases
What is the Murexide Test?
- Used to confirm gout
- Sample of material (e.g. joint aspirate) is mixed with nitric acid and dried over flame
- Add 1 drop concentrated ammonia
- If turns mauve = uric acid
- In practical terms he does not do this that often
Discuss radiography in avian renal disease?
Radiography
- Two views → ventrodorsal and lateral with wings and legs extended
- Normal kidneys difficult to see especially on VD view
- Gonad and pelvis may obscure lateral view
- Normally a small rim of air dorsal (air sac) to the kidneys on lateral view → absent in renomegaly
- Look for changes in size, density & contour. Eggs, cloacaliths, evidence of gout and rest of body
Look at these avian renal disease normal radiographs?
What can be seen here?
Egg-bound Blue & Gold Macaw
Presented with resp disease as it had complete bloackage of GI, repro and URI tract.
Has full crop with sour crop causing resp distress. Removed bloackage and gave fluid therapy similar treatment to blocked tom cat
What can be seen here?
Testicular Tumour
(Budgerigar) This testicular tumour was secreting oestrogen and causing secondary sex characteristic changes
If it was female probaby think it was pre-ovulatory reduction in bone density