Bladder retroflexion in the dog

In a series of 61 dogs examined for perineal hernia 12, (20 per cent) were found to have bladder retroflexion. Associated urinary signs were seen in only five dogs including one case with bladder rupture. Radiology was found to be the most consistently accurate means of diagnosis. Bladders were drained by catheterization, or by percutaneous or surgical cystocentesis before manipulative or surgical reduction. Conventional herniorrhaphy and castration were performed in all cases. Cystopexy was performed in only one case although recurrence of the retroflexion was not encountered in any dogs. Three dogs remained urinary incontinent after treatment.     

Probable Trophic Pad Ulceration Following Traumatic Denervation Report of Two Cases in Dogs

Two dogs developed metacarpal pad ulceration subsequent to a motor vehicle accident. Evidence of ulnar nerve damage was found in both dogs. The ulcers were treated successfully by transferring neurovascular island flap grafts from the dorsum of the foot.     

DISTRIBUTION AND DIAGNOSIS OF DIROFILARIASIS AND TOXOCARIASIS IN AUSTRALIA

SUMMARY: The prevalence of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs continues to increase in the temperate east coast zone of Australia (and is extending further south into New South Wales and Victoria). However, the infection rate has not changed in the tropics over the past 10 years where it would appear that a maximum infection rate of 90% occurs in a given Australian dog population. Twelve percent of Brisbane dogs had occult dirofilariasis and it is suggested that the proportion of occult infections was probably higher in the tropics. Dogs of all breeds appear equally susceptible to D. immitis with infection being more common in older male dogs. The level of microfilaraemia was, occasionally, proportional to the number of heartwprms per dog. Toxocara canis was present in about 75% of dogs from all areas studied except in Central Australia where the level of infection was much lower.
Immunodiagnosis of D. immitis and T. canis with high specificity and sensitivity was achieved by cyanogen bromide indirect fluorescent antibody and cell-mediated immunity tests using parasite antigens purified by affinity chromatography. These tests enabled occult dirofilariasis to be differentiated from unrelated canine cardiac and pulmonary failure. Such immunodiagnosis can aid in the early diagnosis of dirofilariasis particularly in situations where no circulating microfilariae can be detected.
The prevalence of serum antibody in man to purified Dirofilaria and Toxocara antigens was proportional to the incidence of respective canine infections at each location.     

Characterization of endotoxin from the rumen bacterium Megasphaera elsdenii.

Phenol-water extraction of Megasphaera elsdenii, a predominant gram-negative coccus in rumens of cattle fed high-grain diets, yielded material that exhibited typical characteristics of endotoxin. The extract was lethal to mice and to chicken embryos, caused biphasic fever in rabbits, leukopenia in mice, and local and generalized Shwartzman reactions; and induced tolerance to the lethal effect of the endotoxin in mice. The material contained carbohydrate, protein, lipid, phosphorus, and 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate, but no nucleic acid. The beta-hydroxymyristic acid was absent. Results imply that M elsdenii endotoxin has many biological and chemical characteristics common to enterobacterial endotoxin. However, the median lethal doses in mice and in chicken embryos, and minimal dose required to elicit a local Shwartzman reaction, indicate that M elsdenii endotoxin's potency is low, which may explain why the large gram-negative bacterial population in the rumen of cattle is generally innocuous.     

Fertility in buffaloes after oestrus synchronisation with cloprostenol and fixed time insemination.

Fifty-seven cycling buffalo cows of the river type were treated with two doses of 0.5 mg cloprostenol intramuscularly given 11 days apart. Each animal was inseminated twice at 72 and 96 hours after the second injection of cloprostenol. The first service conception rate diagnosed by rectal palpation at 90 days was 38.6 per cent. At the time of insemination the cervix was easily penetrable on both days in only 39 (68.4 per cent) of the animals. They were inseminated at or beyond the internal cervical os, while the others were inseminated in the cervical canal. There was a marked difference in conception rate between those receiving deep inseminations (48.7 per cent) and the others (16.7 per cent). In relation to the interval from calving to insemination the conception rates for those which had calved 60 to 90, 90 to 120 and 120 to 150 days earlier were 16.6, 36.4 and 55.5 per cent respectively. The use of cloprostenol treatment and fixed-time insemination is a useful method of overcoming the problem of oestrus detection in buffaloes. Acceptable levels of fertility can be obtained in those animals which have a sufficiently relaxed cervix to permit semen deposition at the internal os, provided the interval from calving to insemination is more than 90 days.     

Pyometra in the dog. III.--A pathophysiological investigation. III. Plasma progesterone levels and ovarian morphology.

The peripheral plasma progesterone levels in bitches with spontaneously developed pyometra did not differ significantly from those in normally cycling or pregnant bitches. The macroscopic ovarian morphology gave no indication of an increased corpus luteum activity. Ovarian follicular cysts were found in 4 out of 31 cases. There was no detectable difference of results between 14 bitches that had received hormonal medication 10 years to 1 week previous to the pyometra diagnosis, and the other patients.     

Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in a dog with renal medullary lesions.

Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) administration to a polyuric Miniature Poodle did not alter diuresis. Plasma ADH concentrations were high, and urine osmolality remained low during water deprivation. From these findings, it was concluded that the polyuria was of renal origin. In addition, the glomerular filtration rate was found to be high. Electron microscopic examination of the renal medulla revealed vacuoles containing myelinic figures and fingerprint structures in the cells of the Henle loops, blood vessels, and interstitium, similar to those in lysosomal lipid storage disease. Their absence in collecting duct epithelium indicated that the defect in concentrating ability was due to a disturbance of the counter-current multiplier mechanism rather than to a defect in ADH receptors.     

Fenbendazole for treatment of Paragonimus kellicotti infection in dogs.

The effect of fenbendazole therapy was studied in 9 dogs with pulmonary paragonimiasis induced by inoculation of metacercariae (25/dog) of Paragonimus kellicotti. At 42 to 47 days after 6 dogs were inoculated, they were given fenbendazole in 2 divided doses totaling 50 mg (4 dogs) or 100 mg (2 dogs)/kg of body weight each day for 10 to 14 days. Three dogs were not treated. The passage of Paragonimus eggs in the feces ceased after 3 days at the high dosage and after 3 to 8 days at the low dosage. All dogs were euthanatized and necropsied on day 14. Live flukes were not recovered from the lungs of any treated dog, but 15, 19, and 23 live flukes were recovered from the untreated dogs.     

Comparative red cell metabolism in the domestic dog and the dingo

A comparative study of the red cell characters, glycolytic enzymes and intermediates was made in the domestic dog and the dingo. No significant differences were found in any of the parameters studied except the enzyme level of NADH-MR which was significantly lower in dingoes (P less than 0.05).     

Acute viral hepatitis in California sea lions

Acute viral hepatitis was diagnosed in five California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) stranded along the Los Angeles coast. Light microscopy revealed large nuclear inclusion bodies in hepatocytes. Electron microscopy provided evidence that these inclusion bodies were composed of adenovirus-like virions. Attempts to grow the virus in cell culture systems were unsuccessful.