Healing of Mandibular Body Osteotomies after Plate and Intramedullary Pin Fixation

Osteotomies were created in the left body of the mandible of nine dogs and immediately stabilized with either a six hole dynamic compression bone plate or an intramedullary pin. Cortical bone healing and vascular supply were evaluated at weeks 2, 5, and 10 by microradiography, microangiography, and correlated histology of selected mandibular slices. Perforating arterioles from the buccal mucosa maintained vascular supply to rostral mandibular segments. The mandibular body rostral to the osteotomy site and caudal to the canine tooth suffered an interruption of vascular supply that was replaced by a temporary extraosseous supply during healing of the osteotomy. Intramedullary pin placement resulted in destruction of rostral teeth. There was an inflammatory response around the rostral portion of all intramedullary pins. Osteotomy sites involving tooth roots resulted in no disruption of the normal vascular or neural structures of the tooth pulp.     

Signs of Sympathetic Denervation Associated With a Thoracic Melanoma in a Horse

Sympathetic denervation in a 20-year-old, gray, Thorough-bred-Percheron gelding was manifested by cutaneous hyperthermia and sweating over the right side of the body, demarcated by a line from the withers to the elbow and extending cranially. There was cutaneous hyperthermia over the right side of the head, but other signs of Horner's syndrome (sweating, ptosis, miosis, enophthalmos) were not present. The pattern of cutaneous hyperthermia and sweating was consistent with sympathetic denervation localized to the cervicothoracic ganglion, and thoracic radiographs revealed increased density in the craniodorsal thorax. Cytologic evaluation of a sample of pleural effusion revealed mesothelial cells containing melanin and cells suggestive of melanocytes or melanoblasts. Treatment with oral cimetidine and intrapleural cisplatin was not successful. A necropsy was not performed, but the clinical findings supported a diagnosis of thoracic melanoma involving the cervicothoracic ganglion.     

Evaluation of the Tibia as a Source of Autogenous Cancellous Bone in the Horse

A 1 cm defect was created in the proximal medial cortex of 12 tibiae, cancellous bone was removed from the site, and the bones were fractured by loading in torsion. The fractures did not occur through the donor sites and the fracture patterns and loads to fracture were similar for the treated tibiae and their untreated mates. Cancellous bone was harvested from the proximal medial aspect of both tibiae in nine adult horses. The soft tissue wounds were monitored for more than 10 days in seven horses and healing of the osseous defects was evaluated radiographically at regular intervals to month 6 in two horses. The site provided convenient access with the horses in lateral or dorsal recumbency, the anatomic landmarks were reliable, and the surgical procedure was simple and short. Complications occurred in only three incisions.     

BACTERIAL ENDOCARDITIS WITH THROMBUS FORMATION AND ABSCESSATION IN A HORSE

A 2.5 year old Appaloosa stallion with progressive weight loss and a heart murmur was diagnosed as having vegetative endocarditis of the right atrioventricular valves with a mass in the right atrium. The ultrasonographic appearance of the lesion was characterized by extreme reverberation. On postmortem examination, a 9 cm diameter thrombus was found within the right atrium and auricle, occupying approximately 80% of the chamber volume. Additionally, a lenticular abscess extended throughout the parietal cusp of the right atrioventricular valve. Histologic examination revealed that the lesions were septic with numerous gram positive cocci in short chains, suggestive of Streptococcus equi , and gram negative rods.     

COLLAGENASE CHEMONUCLEOLYSIS—A LONG TERM RADIOGRAPHIC STUDY IN NORMAL DOGS

Five clinically normal five year old dogs were used in this study. From a randomised table inter ver tebral discs were each injected with either collagenase or calcium chloride diluent. The surgically exposed cervical discs were injected with 50 units whereas thoracic and lumbar discs were injected under fluoroscopic guidance with 100 units of the enzyme. Postinjection radiographs revealed significant (p ≤ .05) disc space narrowing in enzyme injected discs. The cervical discs had the highest frequency of radiographic narrowing (87%) followed by the thoracic (70%) and lumbar (53%) discs. Spondylosis deformans developed at the sites of cervical enzyme injections. None of the dogs had neurologic abnormalities one year postinjection.     

Hepatic Lobe Torsion as a Cause of Colic in a Horse

A 14-year-old Arabian gelding was examined for colic. An exploratory celiotomy was subsequently performed and the left lobe of the liver was found to be twisted. The lobe was resected using a TA-90 surgical stapling instrument. Histologic examination of the resected liver indicated portal vein and sinusoid dilation and congestion with blood. There were focal areas of necrosis and bacterial cocci and rods throughout the section. The histologic findings were consistent with hepatic lobe torsion. After surgery, the horse was treated with broad spectrum antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, heparin, and intravenous fluids. The horse recovered without complications, although serum liver enzymes remained elevated for more than 1 week after surgery. Seven months after surgery the horse showed no adverse affects from the disease.     

A practical evaluation of five food additives likely to be used as growth promoters in broiler rations

An investigation is described which was designed to evaluate and compare five food additives. The investigation was carried out with about 2400 broilers and the food additives tested were virginiamycin, zinc bacitracin, a nitrofuran derivative, and two arsenical compounds. Only one treatment, one of the arsenicals, produced results economically superior to the control diet. This evaluation of the treatments relative to each other and to the control diet remained substantially similar, as far as the several production characters were concerned, in each of the two seasons in which the investigation was carried out, for each sex and for each of the two breeds of broiler used. The total weight and the weight per unit area of the wall of the small intestine was found to be higher among birds on the control diet than under each of the treatment diets.     

Characterization of changes related to mineral balance and bone metabolism in the young racing Quarter Horse

This study was conducted to determine physiologic responses reflective of bone metabolism during the onset of training and to relate those responses to the mineral requirements of young racehorses. Ten previously untrained Quarter Horse geldings were put into race training. They were fed a diet balanced to meet NRC recommendations for young horses in training. Feed, feces and urine were collected, weighed and analyzed over the experiment to determine mineral balance. Radiographs were taken of the left front leg to determine mineral content of a cross-sectional area of the third metacarpal. Blood samples were taken to determine osteocalcin, parathyroid hormone, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, Ca and inorganic P concentrations. Horses were gentled to ride, trained to gallop on the track and maintained in training for four 28-day periods. Blood serum was collected every 14 day, while radiographs and 72-hr total collections of urine and feces were taken every 28 d. Radiographs demonstrated that mineral content was lowest at day 56 in the dorsal, palmar and medial cortices of the third metacarpal. Urinary Ca declined dramatically from day 0 to day 28, then remained constant to day 56, before decreasing at day 84. Fecal Ca peaked at day 28 and remained elevated above day 0 amounts until day 112. calcium retention was negative at day 0, became slightly positive by day 28 and increased through day 112. Phosphorus and Mg balance remained relatively unchanged throughout the duration of the study. This study demon-strated changes in the mineral content of the third metacarpal and Ca balance during early training and suggests that further studies be performed.