Laser therapy in the horse: histopathologic response

Surgical incisions were made in the skin and superficial digital flexor tendons in horses. A low intensity laser therapy device was used to treat the limbs. After laser therapy was completed, skin and superficial digital flexor tendons from incised laser-irradiated, incised-control, and nonincised-control limbs were compared microscopically. Qualitative differences between laser irradiated and nonirradiated tissues were not found. The laser therapy device used in this study may be of insufficient power to affect wound healing.     

Ultrastructural study of the liver and kidney in ochratoxicosis A in young broiler chicks

Ultrastructural changes are reported in the kidney and liver of 20-day-old broiler chicks fed ochratoxin A (OA), incorporated in the diet at levels of 2 and 4 ppm. Changes in the kidney included the presence of abnormally shaped mitochondria in the proximal convoluted tubules. There was an increase in the size and number of mitochondrial dense granules and cytoplasmic peroxisomes. Intranuclear and cytoplasmic lipid droplets and electron dense round bodies in the dilated smooth endoplasmic reticulum were also noted. Regional thickening and degeneration of the glomerular basement membrane was observed in some cases. In the liver from OA fed birds there was an increased accumulation of cytoplasmic glycogen in the hepatocytes. Abnormal mitochondrial ring forms in the kidney and the accumulation of glycogen in the liver are considered to be of diagnostic significance in ochratoxicosis of young broiler chicks. The severity of the changes was found to be dose related. These results suggest that the mitochondria in the proximal convoluted tubules of kidney were most sensitive to OA toxicity.     

Verminous (Strongylus vulgaris) myelitis in a donkey

A fifth stage Strongylus vulgaris migrated through the spinal cord of a 2-year-old, male donkey resulting in progressive paraparesis and then tetraplegia. A profound neutrophilic pleocytosis was detected on analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. The parasite appeared to have entered the mid-lumbar spinal cord, migrated to the cranial thoracic segments, exited, then re-entered the spinal cord a few segments craniad. It then traveled further cranially and was found in the third cervical spinal cord segment. Some parts of the lesion were remarkably free from tissue necrosis, hemorrhage and inflammation. Severe granulomatous myelitis with hemorrhage and necrosis were seen at other sites. The latter were quite similar to lesions seen in equine protozoal myeloencephalitis.     

Pelvic bladder in dogs without urinary incontinence

Double-contrast cystography was performed simultaneously with cystometrography in 6 male and 6 female dogs. All dogs were continent, and results of urinalyses were normal. Initial radiographs were made following intravesical infusion of 0.88 ml of positive contrast medium/kg of body weight. Additional radiographs were made during infusion of CO2. The last radiographs were made at the time of detrusor reflex (11 dogs) or when intravesical pressure reached 50 cm H2O (1 female). An average of 34% (range, 11% to 67%) of bladder length was within the pelvic canal when only the positive contrast medium was infused into the bladders. By the end of CO2 infusion, the bladder neck was more cranially located in 5 of 6 males and in 5 of 6 females. On the last radiographs made, an average of 19% (range, 10% to 35%) of bladder length was within the pelvic canal in 3 of 6 males and in 4 of 6 females. The bladder neck was rounded in 10 of 12 dogs. Thus, it was concluded that previous reports associating pelvic urinary bladder with urinary incontinence and other urologic abnormalities are questionable.     

Dorsal Approach to the Caudal Pelvic Canal and Rectum Effect on Normal Dogs

A dorsal surgical approach to the perineal area and rectum was made on 10 healthy, adult dogs. The rectococcygeal muscle was incised and the levator ani and external sphincter muscles were separated to the level of the caudal rectal nerve. All dogs were clinically normal throughout a 3 week postoperative observation period.     

Equine muscle fiber types: A histological and histochemical analysis of select thoroughbred yearlings

Equine skeletal muscle was histologically and histochemically analyzed in orderto measure fiber composition. Well-sampled open muscle biopsies were obtained from the semitendinosus muscle in select yearling Thoroughbreds. Each biopsy was sectioned and stained for the Harris Hematoxylin and Eosin and the modified Gomori Trichrome in order to demonstrate the basic muscle fiber morphology delineating intra and extracellular elements. A thirdstain, CA++ activated myosin Adenosine Triphosphatase at pH 9.4 was used to differentiate between specific types on the basis of enzyme activities. Subsequent differentiation of Type I slow twitch and Type II fast twitch muscle fibers was assessed on the basisof staining intensity. The high predominance of Type II fast twitch fibers ranged from 85.1 to 100 % with a mean of 90.5 %. Racing records, as two- and three-year-olds, were monitored in order to qualitatively compare histochemical results with performance achievements. While caution must be exercised, results of this investigation suggested that it may be possible, at an early age to partially predict the potential of each horse to adapt to training and to compete successfully in races of varying distances.     

Total ear canal ablation combining bulla osteotomy and curettage in dogs with chronic otitis externa and media

Ear canal ablation combining bulla osteotomy and curettage was performed on 44 dogs (n = 72 ears). Indications for the procedure included one or more of the following: chronic nonresponsive otitis externa and/or media (n = 71), tumor in the horizontal portion of the ear canal (n = 1), failed lateral ear resection (n = 11), ossified auricular cartilages secondary to chronic otitis externa (n = 22), failed previous total ear canal ablation (n = 1), and otitis interna (n = 1). In 40 dogs, the surgery was successful in alleviating all clinical signs of otitis externa and media. During the immediate postoperative period, 2 dogs died of causes unrelated to otitis. Complications related to the surgery developed in 9 of the surviving 42 dogs. Ultimately, 95% (40 of the surviving 42) of the dogs were cured by use of this procedure. Surgery successfully resolved the original problems in 97% (66 of 68) of the surgically treated ears of these dogs.     

Safety and efficacy of two sustained-release intrareticular selenium supplements and the associated placental and colostral transfer of selenium in beef cattle

One hundred fifty Se-deficient, pregnant, crossbred beef cows were assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups: group A, Se-deficient control; group B, 1 Se bolus at 0 and 119 days; group C, 1 Se bolus at 0 days; and group D, 2 Se pellets at 0 days. The Se bolus is an osmotic pump designed to release 3 mg of Se/d into the reticulorumen. The Se pellets weight approximately 30 g and contain 10% elemental Se, which is liberated in the reticulorumen. The Se bolus is designed to provide Se supplementation for 120 days and the Se pellets provide supplementation for up to 18 months. Cattle were maintained on Se-deficient pasture or forages prepared from these pastures for the duration of the experiment. Blood samples were collected from cows prior to treatment (time 0) and at 28, 52, 119, and 220 days thereafter and analyzed for blood Se (BSe) concentration. Body weights were recorded at each sampling time. Blood Se concentration of cows from all supplemented groups were significantly (P less than 0.01) higher than control values at all sample dates after treatments began. By the end of the 220-day study, treatment group-B cattle had significantly (P less than 0.01) higher BSe concentrations than any other group. Body weights of treatment groups fluctuated throughout the study, but did not differ (P greater than 0.05) between groups. One cow and 6 calves born to cows during the experimental period died. Necropsy of 5 calves provided no evidence linking these deaths to treatments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)