Clearance of ovine isolates of Bordetella parapertussis from murine trachea and lungs

Thirty-six mice were inoculated intranasally with Bordetella parapertussis organisms (isolated from sheep with chronic non-progressive pneumonia) to study their deposition and clearance in the lower respiratory tract. The deposition of the organism was greater in the trachea than in the lungs. At 48 hours after inoculation, almost 100% of organisms were cleared from the trachea but only 55% of organisms were cleared from the lungs. This result correlates well with the morphological changes seen previously in the pulmonary parenchyma and airways of mice and lambs experimentally infected with this organism.     

Citrullinaemia in Friesian calves

Six Friesian calves from a pedigree herd died or were killed within 1 week of birth because of progressive central nervous disease in which the only consistent lesion was cerebral oedema. The cause was citrullinaemia, resulting from an autosomally inherited dysfunction of the urea cycle enzyme arginosuccinate synthetase. Citrullinaemia was diagnosed by demonstrating markedly elevated concentrations of citrulline in the blood of one calf and in the cerebral spinal fluid of another. One of two sires used in the herd was a heterozygous carrier of the disease. Heterozygocity was demonstrated using a polymerase chain reaction/restriction endonuclease test designed to detect the genetic mutation that causes citrullinaemia in cattle.     

Adrenal adenoma in a cross-bred terrier

An adrenal tumour was diagnosed in a 12-year-old female cross-bred terrier. The dog was presented to the veterinary clinic because she had been gaining weight and had started urinating in the owners' house. Clinical findings included obesity, abdominal enlargement, thinning of the hair coat, seborrhoea sicca, and polydipsia and polyuria. The diagnosis was made by clinical pathology, endocrine function tests and abdominal radiography. Surgical removal of the neoplastic right adrenal gland resulted in resolution of the clinical signs, including regrowth of the hair coat.     

Open Intestinal Anastomosis with Surgical Stapling Equipment in 24 Dogs and Cats

Surgical stapling equipment was used to perform open antiperistaltic side-to-side ("functional end-to-end") entero-anastomoses in 20 dogs and 4 cats. Twenty-one anastomoses healed uneventfully. Seven animals with severe bacterial peritonitis required open peritoneal drainage and delayed abdominal closure. There was postoperative leakage at the anastomotic site in two dogs and a localized abscess at the staple line in one cat. No long-term complications occurred in follow-up periods of 3 to 29 months.