Studies on inflammation in the sheep,using turpentine-induced pleurisy as a test system

Extract

The interpretation of biochemical measurements usually requires knowledge of the normal as a reference point. It has been usual to take specimens from a group of individuals presumed to be healthy and to express as normal the range, or mean and standard deviation, found for those subjects.     

Development of protection and of self-cure in lambs infected daily with Ostertagia circumcincta

Lambs were infected daily with 1000 Ostertagia circumcincta larvae. At intervals of 4 weeks groups of lambs were each challenged with a dose of 28,000 larvae, and their worm burdens compared with those of unchallenged controls. The measure of their ability to resist a challenge infection, which would have determined their degree of "protection", was obscured by the separate phenomenon of self-cure. Evidence suggested that the different manifestations of self-cure were determined by the state of resistance of the host and followed a set chronological sequence.     

Evaluation of tumescent local anesthesia in cats undergoing unilateral mastectomy

ObjectiveTo evaluate the analgesic efficacy and safety of tumescent local anesthesia (TLA) in cats undergoing unilateral mastectomy.Study designProspective clinical trial.AnimalsA total of 12 ovariohysterectomized female cats.MethodsAll animals were premedicated with pethidine (4 mg kg^–1) intramuscularly (IM), followed by induction of anesthesia with propofol (5 mg kg^–1) intravenously and maintenance with isoflurane in oxygen. A refrigerated TLA solution (15 mL kg^–1, 8 °C) was injected using a Klein cannula. The solution was composed of 0.5 mL of epinephrine (1 mg mL^–1) and 40 mL of 2% lidocaine added to 210 mL lactated Ringer’s solution (final lidocaine concentration 0.32%). Heart and respiratory rates, systolic arterial blood pressure, temperature and oxygen saturation were measured during anesthesia. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein for measurement of plasma lidocaine concentration using high performance liquid chromatography. Postoperative pain scores were evaluated hourly for 6 hours. Analgesic rescue was performed with tramadol (2 mg kg^–1) IM and meloxicam (0.15 mg kg^–1) subcutaneously.ResultsPlasma lidocaine concentration peaked at 90 minutes after injection of TLA, but no concentration considered toxic for the species was measured. The median postoperative analgesia time was 6 hours after injection of TLA.ConclusionsThis study found that TLA prevented sympathetic response to noxious stimuli during anesthesia and provided satisfactory postoperative analgesia in cats submitted to total unilateral mastectomy, with no apparent signs of toxicity.Clinical relevanceTLA can prevent sympathetic stimulation resulting from noxious stimuli during anesthesia, promoting good intraoperative conditions, proving to be a viable addition to analgesia in cats submitted to a total unilateral mastectomy.     

Goat papillomatosis

The present study indicates that the development of caprine mammary gland warts seems to depend on several factors--namely, nonpigmented skin, adult age, excessive exposure to sunlight, and contact with a yet undefined infective agent. Three types of goat papillomas are described: mammary, cutaneous, other than mammary, and genital. Warts on animals lacking pigmented skin are more frequent in adult animals that live in areas where there is abundant sunlight. Mammary gland papillomas are the most numerous and occur in different stages: ie, goats with mammary gland papillomas that regress, never to recur, goats with papillomas that regress in the winter and reoccur in summer, goats with persistent papillomas of which some are from the group that had previous winter time regression, and goats that have progression of persistent papilloma to carcinoma. Saanen, Saanen crossbreeds, and goats of other breeds that lack pigmented skin and live in sunbelt areas are at high risk for papillomatosis. An infective agent was not defined even after electron microscopic, immunocytochemical, and DNA-DNA hybridization studies. Yet, there is high probability that an infective agent is involved, because mammary gland papillomas usually occur in the susceptible herd 4 to 6 months after an affected goat is introduced.     

Systematics of the nematodes that cause ostertagiasis in cattle, sheep and goats in North America

The systematics of the Ostertagiinae is unsettled with no agreement on how many genera and species are present in cattle and sheep. Ten species of Ostertagiinae are commonly parasitic in cattle and sheep. The males can be identified on the basis of differences in morphology of spicules and genital cones but the females of most species cannot be identified. The species-level systematics have been complicated by the proposal that the ten species are polymorphs of only five species. The systematics at genus level has been complicated by the use of numerous genera for the ten species, at present most commonly Ostertagia, Teladorsagia and Marshallagia. This report (1) describes the current knowledge of the systematics and (2) provides diagnoses of the genera recommended for the ten species. The morphology of the ten species was studied to determine whether characteristics could be found to identify females or to further differentiate the males. Characters studied included the system of longitudinal and surface cuticular ridges (synlophe), the internal morphology of the esophagus and the orientation of rays of the copulatory bursa. The study of species morphology resulted in additional support for the polymorphism proposal. All minor species were found to be identical to their major species in characteristics of the synlophe, esophagus and rays of the copulatory bursa. Two recent classifications of the Ostertagiinae both recommended the use of the genus Teladorsagia for the species T. circumcincta and the two minor species that occur with it, T. trifurcata and T. davtiani. Teladorsagia is characterized by a copulatory bursa in which the five lateral rays are arranged 2-2-1 and a ventral swelling of the genital cone (proconus) is absent. One pair of species, Marshallagia marshalli (major species) and Ostertagia occidentalis (minor species) should be included in the genus Marshallagia. This genus has been characterized by an elongated bursa in which the posterior pair of lateral rays are much longer than the ventral pair. The remaining two pairs of species (O. ostertagi and its minor species O. lyrata, and O. leptospicularis and its minor species O. kolchida) and O. bisonis belong in the genus Ostertagia which is characterized by a 2-1-2 arrangement of the five lateral rays of the copulatory bursa and the presence of a proconus.