COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC ANATOMY OF THE CANINE PANCREAS

Barium sulfate was administered into the coeliac artery of 5 canine cadavers to allow for contrast computed tomography of the pancreas. Contiguous, 2-mm-thick slices were acquired. Multiplanar and three-dimensional reformatting were performed to clarify the anatomic relationship. After imaging, the cadavers were frozen, cross sections obtained, and plastinated. These were compared to the computed tomography images. Five plain and contrast enhanced computed tomographic series of normal live controls were acquired and evaluated retrospectively. In the study of the canine cadavers the pancreas became opacified and appeared homogenous with irregular contour. In normal live controls, acquiring an image at the end of expiration allowed a detailed view of the pancreatic parenchyma in the non-alterated pancreas, but pancreatic and bile ducts could not be seen. Adjacent to the hepatic hilus the pancreatic body appeared as a dorsoventrally flattened structure bordering on the ventral surface of the portal vein, both in cadavers and normal live controls. The right lobe extended caudodorsally to the right abdominal wall and aligned with the cranial part of the duodenum. The left lobe was adjacent to the gastric body in all dogs although it was separated from the gastric fundus by the dorsal extremity of the spleen in normal live controls. Neither kidney was suitable as an anatomic marker for localization of the pancreas, unlike traditional references in textbooks. We recommended using the portal vein to localize the pancreatic body, the descending duodenum for the right lobe, and the dorsal extremity of the spleen as well as the gastric fundus for the left lobe.     

ANGIOGRAPHY OF THE HEPATIC AND PORTAL VENOUS SYSTEM IN THE DOG AND CAT: AN INVESTIGATIVE METHOD*

The investigators studied the hepatic angiographic technics used in human medicine with respect to their applicability for the investigation of circulatory liver diseases in the dog and cat. The technics were performed in 11 normal dogs and 2 normal cats, and the normal radiographic anatomy of the hepatic portal system and its tributaries was described. The potential indications for the angiographic technics were defined and their respective advantages and disadvantages discussed. Splenoportography was a valuable method for outlining the intrahepatic portal vein branches and for percutaneous prehepatic portal vein pressure determination. Percutaneous transhepatic portography was more difficult to perform, but it provided better detail of the intrahepatic portal veins than splenoportography. Transjugular transhepatic portography was the most versatile but also the most cumbersome of all technics tested. Percutaneous kinetic hepatography proved impractical in dogs and cats. The mesenteric tributaries to the hepatic portal system were best outlined by cranial mesenteric arterial portography or by operative mesenteric venous portography. Operative mesenteric venous portography, in contrast to cranial mesenteric arterial portography, was also useful for prehe-patic portal vein pressure determination. Free and wedged hepatic venography provided an opportunity for the functional and morphologic investigation of the hepatic sinusoid circula-tion.     

In vitro formation of infection structures of Phytophthora infestans is associated with synthesis of stage specific polypeptides

Efficient and synchronized production of infection structures of Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of late blight of potato, was established on an artificial membrane without the host plant. Microscopic comparison of the in vitro and the in planta formed fungal structures revealed a high degree of similarity. In vitro development of infection structures enabled detailed cytological and biochemical investigations. By video microscopy the highly dynamic phenomenon of cytoplasmic migration was monitored within the living fungus. At four distinct developmental stages, hyphae, cysts, germinating cysts and appressoria, all grown in vitro, protein synthesis was analysed by comparative two-dimensional SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. On two-dimensional gels of protein extracts of the four developmental stages a number of polypeptides were identified that showed stage-specific differences in their relative amounts. The de novo synthesis of proteins was investigated by in vivo labelling experiments. A number of polypeptides showed development-dependent expression. The majority of changes in protein synthesis occurred during germination of cysts and development of the germ tubes. In particular, at the stage of appressoria formation, the actual start of the infection process, several major polypeptides were newly synthesized.     

Invasion and persistence of Mycoplasma bovis in embryonic calf turbinate cells

Mycoplasma bovis is a wall-less bacterium causing bovine mycoplasmosis, a disease showing a broad range of clinical manifestations in cattle. It leads to enormous economic losses to the beef and dairy industries. Antibiotic treatments are not efficacious and currently no efficient vaccine is available. Moreover, mechanisms of pathogenicity of this bacterium are not clear, as few virulence attributes are known. Microscopic observations of necropsy material suggest the possibility of an intracellular stage of M. bovis. We used a combination of a gentamicin protection assay, a variety of chemical treatments to block mycoplasmas entry in eukaryotic cells, and fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy to investigate the intracellular life of M. bovis in calf turbinate cells. Our findings indicate that M. bovis invades and persists in primary embryonic calf turbinate cells. Moreover, M. bovis can multiply within these cells. The intracellular phase of M. bovis may represent a protective niche for this pathogen and contribute to its escape from the host’s immune defense as well as avoidance of antimicrobial agents.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13567-015-0194-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Complex partial cluster seizures in cats with orofacial involvement

Seventeen cats were presented with acute onset of complex partial seizures with orofacial involvement (salivation, facial twitching, lip smacking, chewing, licking or swallowing), motor arrest (motionless starring) and behavioural changes. In 11 cats hippocampal necrosis (HN) was confirmed by histopathology. In a further six cats hippocampal changes were suggested by magnetic resonance imaging. The mean monitoring time of eight cats which were not euthanased in the acute phase of the disease, was 408?days (60-908): four cats are still alive. In all surviving cases, the owners reported a good quality of life. We conclude that an acute cluster of complex partial seizures with orofacial involvement are often associated with HN and that HN is not necessarily a fatal condition. Supportive and antiepileptic therapy can result in remission. The long-term outcome can be good to excellent; therefore, euthanasia should be avoided in the acute phase of the signs.     

INDIRECT AND DIRECT DETERMINATION OF THE PORTAL VEIN PRESSURE IN NORMAL AND ABNORMAL DOGS AND NORMAL CATS1

Portal hypertension resulting in ascites and portosystemic shunts leading to hepatoencephalopathy are major clinical manifestations of hepatic circulatory disease. Diffuse liver disease impairing sinusoidal blood flow can induce portal hypertension, portosystemic shunts, or both. The liver may also be involved secondarily in posthepatic hypertension and become the site of ascitic fluid formation. Portosystemic shunts may or may not be associated with portal hypertension. Selective catheterization of the hepatic and portal veins permits one to record pressures and to outline gross and subgross vascular anomalies by injecting contrast medium. Sequential pressure recordings in the caudal vena cava, in a free and wedged hepatic vein position, in the splenic pulp, and directly in the portal vein are the bases for the differentiation of prehepatic, liver-induced, and posthepatic portal hypertension. In addition to localizing the disease process along the postcaval-portal vein axis, pressure measurements are a reliable basis for the prognosis and selection of the most appropriate therapy. In dogs with portacaval shunts, wedge hepatic vein pressure recordings assist in the detection of hepatic sinusoidal anomalies that limit blood flow and preclude surgical ablation of the shunts. The various technics and their suitability for direct and indirect portal vein pressure recording are described and evaluated. Normal portal vein pressure values in 11 dogs and two cats, using different technics, are provided. The clinical usefulness of the various technics of pressure recording and angiography was illustrated in ten dogs with ascites, hepatoencephalopathy, or both.