Metastatic mast cell tumour in a dog presenting with spinal pain

The clinical, advanced imaging and surgical features of a case of canine extradural mast cell tumour are presented. This rare location has only been reported once before as a primary lesion, although the present case may be a metastatic lesion. Given the frequent occurrence and treatment of cutaneous mast cell tumours in dogs, the finding of spinal metastasis is an important reminder to consider metastatic neoplasia in cases of previously treated cancers presenting with spinal pain.     

CORRELATION OF RADIOGRAPHIC, NECROPSY AND HISTOLOGIC FINDINGS IN 8 DOGS WITH ELBOW DYSPLASIA

Elbow dysplasia is osteoarthrosis/degenerative joint disease due to abnormal development of the elbow joint. The abnormaldevelopment is the result of specific inherited etiologies alone or in combination. This paper attempts to clarify the diagnosis of elbow dysplasia based on the presence of degenerative joint disease by correlating rediographic necropsy, necropsy, and histopathologic results using elbows from 8 German Shepherd dogs. All elbows had radiographic changes consistent with osteoarthrosis/degenerativejoint disease which were identified best on the flexedmedial-lateral projection. Radiographically, a specific diagnosis was made inseven elbows; ununited anconeal process(6) and osteochondrosis (1). At necropsy these lesions were confirmed plus 14 elbows were identified that had fragmented medial coronoid process (6), abnormally shaped medial coronoid processes of fissures in the articualr cartilage of the medial coronoid process (8). additionally, histopathologically there was proliferative synovitis at the radial notch of the ulna and degenerative changes on the proximal, nonarticualr surface of the anconeal process at the site of insertion of the olecranon ligament and joint capsule.Therefore, for screening the elbow joint to identify elbow dysplasia, the recognition of osteoarthrosis/degenerative joint disease on an extreme flexed mediolateral rediograph appears to be sufficient.     

The effect of mid-cycle insemination on subsequent conception rates of cattle

Abstract

Extract

Sir,—The proportion of return intervals after first insemination of less than 18 days' duration is between 16 and 20% in New Zealand dairy cattle (Macmillan, 1970 Macmillan, K. L. 1970. Return intervals to first insemination and conception rates to second insemination in New Zealand cattle. N.Z. Jl agric. Res., 43 in press [Google Scholar]) whereas the comparable figure in American herds is 3.5% (Moeller and VanDemark, 1951 Moeller, A. N. and Van Demark, N. L. 1951. The relationship of the interval between inseminations to bovine fertility. J. Anim. Sci., 10: 988–992. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Flerchinger and Erb, 1954 Flerchinger, F. H. and Erb, R. E. 1954. Influence of treatment and fertility level of semen on distribution and non-return decline of repeat service intervals. J. Dairy Sci., 37: 949–949. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Since the incidence of these short cycles tends to increase with increasing: herd size, these short return intervals after first insemination may be the result of errors made by the farmer identifying or diagnosing oestrous cows. Such errors will arise because (1) the farmer correctly submits a cow in the first instance but then unnecessarily resubmits the same cow because of incorrect identification or diagnosis; (2) the initial incorrect submission is followed by correct diagnosis and submission; or (3) errors in detection and diagnosis are made on consecutive occasions.