DPT 511 - Production animals

Bovine Pathology Case studies 2021

Instructions

1. Provide one or more morphological diagnosis

2. Provide an aetiological diagnosis or develop a list of differential diagnosis – to know what samples to focus on
3. List key epidemiological features for the diagnosis or each of the DD’s
4. List the specimens to be collected and diagnostic tests to be performed to confirm a diagnosis for each DD.
What is normal and abnormal and the lesions

Case 20 – Ante- mortal bloat

Caudal dorsal area of the lungs – has a white appearance of the visceral pleura of the lung – NORMAL
(Caudal dorsal part of the lung in a bovine – explands more than the cranial part – when the lung
collapses – the pleura thickens and appears white – NORMAL

Vets make the mistake – by looking at this and jumping to the conclusion of it being pneumonia – you
need to be careful (rather take samples for histopathology to see or do impression smears – to see if
you have inflammatory cellular component) - it is heart failure

Image
- Typical situation
- Animal is dead – as you can see a bulge (it would have been
normal and alive if no abdominal distension were seen)
- NB- need to check for a bloat line
Abdominal distention is associated with ruminal distention and is
associated with
- Bloat – free gas and frothy bloat
Free gas bloat and DD’s for bloat
- Obstruction of esophagus or ruminal esophageal obstruction (FB
Macroscopically
- You can look at the surface of the lungs
- On cut surface of the lung in an animal with interstitial pneumonia = rubbery consistency and
heavy lungs – way above normal – loses spongy feel
If you cut into it – will ooze oedematous fluid – part of exudate in interstitial pneumonia =
foamy on cut surface
In acute passive congestion
- The lung maintains its spongy and dense purple – this lung in the image is spongy and not
 in rumen and something swallowed and stuck in esophagus – heavy, but is congested
intrinsic and luminal can occur
- Extrinsic – neoplasms, abscess that grows and expands in areas Necropsy and PM – how would we differentiate post mortal bloat to ante mortal bloat
of esophagus and expands in areas of esophagus and preventing
normal ruminal esophageal reflux process and preventing
rumination and blowing methane gas being produced in rumen
- Rumen acidosis- excessive gas production
- Combination of free and frothy bloat – whereby rumen acidosis
kills off microbial organisms and protozoa which increases
surface tension of gas bubbles produced -> frothy bloat ->
obscure ruminal esophageal opening – problematic
What is common is vagal indigestion
- syndrome whereby the vagal nerve to the rumen is affected ->
ileus and ruminal atony -> ruminal distension and animal
cannot blow off accumulating gas since the rumen is not
functioning
- common findings are adhesions – fibrous associated with TRP,
abscess in serosal surface whereby the mainstem nerves of the
vagal nerves runs, medial to the rumen between the omasum
and the reticulum – area whereby adhesions and abscess which
affects rumen nerves
Various forms of vagal indigestion (all 4)

These are all the ante mortal forms of ruminal distension – being bloat,
but if you have this picture (ruminant with any condition) – animal dies,
and they lie in lateral recumbency, and rumen fluid will block the rumen
esophageal outflow of gas -> fermentation continues post-mortally after
death and the animals bloat quickly after death within minutes (30 mins)
If animal is anteportally bloated you
will see congestion cranial and caudal
You cannot by seeing ante mortal bloat
– consider diseases – you need to rule
out other causes as well – but u can tell
if ante mortal/ terminal bloat is
present by looking at the severe

Esophagus
- enters abdominal cavity and spans the thoracic cavity up to the
neck and pharynx
- where there is excessive pressure present – so the light pale side
is because the rumen was lying in the area -> compressing the
blood circulation out of the distal esophagus and causing severe
congestion of the rostral part of the esophagus -> bloat line
- clean line in esophagus between the purple congestion and
poorly vascularized distal part of the esophagus when it is ante
mortal bloat
in post mortal bloat – this bloat line becomes very faint, and you cannot
see this line – you will see a gradual continuation between the 2
situations of terminal bloat – bloat line can look like this – sign of animal
that animal did not have primary bloat ante mortally but a terminal
bloat before it died whereby it was in lateral recumbency
When clear distinction between pale and congestion with a bloat line =
ante mortem was a primary condition to consider
congestion on the cranial and caudal sides of the carcass
Case whereby the Rumen would have been expanding onto the diaphragm, causing severe
intrathoracic pressure and that will compress the blood from organs and tissue with a clear bloat line
seen – with a very cranial congested part of the carcass seen and the trachea and pale distal
oesophagus
Why do animal die from bloat, what is the mechanism?
- If you look here – yes, the compression on the diaphragm causes the animal not to breath, but
that is not the main problem
- Main problem = the compression of the caudal vena cava that is supplying the heart of the
animal with blood -> lack of venous return to the heart and the heart rate increases as there is
a decrease amount of blood and a decrease C0 and the heart of the animal requires more 02
(but as there is pressure on the chest – the animal cannot breathe -> acidosis metabolically
and the heart fails from anoxia due to poor respiratory problem and decrease venous return)
Diagnosis
- Interpretation at a macroscopic level is key for diagnosis of primary bloat – open the
oesophagus and see bloat line and congestion
- None of the other tests – no sampling is indicated for primary, free and gas bloat
Frothy bloat – frothy contents, but do not when you open the abdomen and there is gas – can be post
mortal free gas
 No PM histopathology will help – non-specific

DPT 511 - Production animals

Bovine Pathology Case studies 2021

Instructions

5. Provide one or more morphological diagnosis

6. Provide an aetiological diagnosis or develop a list of differential diagnosis – to know what samples to focus on
7. List key epidemiological features for the diagnosis or each of the DD’s
8. List the specimens to be collected and diagnostic tests to be performed to confirm a diagnosis for each DD.
What is normal and abnormal and the lesions

Case 21 – Lightening strikes

Not common for lightning to strike directly -> normally stroke the ground and hits a tree or strikes a fence and the
animals standing next to the fence become the secondary conductor to earth the lightning. The lightning will run
through the fence and will jump onto the animals and earth into the soil -> many animals dying

Why animals close to the fence – in thunderstorms when there is rain and wind -> cattle will characteristically walk
with their backs facing the wind and rain – storms from the mountains in the picture
Image
- Sudden mortality in many animals and all together
- Associated with the fence
- Image showing common manifestation of lightning
strike

DD list
We call this type of death a apoplectic death – you are
suddenly dead – key for lightning strike
PM for lightening
If you have a dry lightening event (dust storm with For an animal – 4-legged animal the potential difference is greater – current
lightening and without anything wet or rain) enter from feet and run through the heart and through the back legs= fatal
- If current runs through the legs, you will see burning If cow was standing the other way – loess fatal
or singeing of the hair
- Curled hair and burnt hair smell
- Not commonly seen
If wet lightening
- You will not get singing of the hair
 Samples for histopathology is not helpful but heart
(fracture fragmentation of myocardiocytess) and
spinal cords (acute neuronal necrosis) can be
collected from only fresh carcasses

DPT 511 - Production animals

Bovine Pathology Case studies 2021

Instructions
 9. Provide one or more morphological diagnosis
10. Provide an aetiological diagnosis or develop a list of differential diagnosis – to know what samples to focus on
11. List key epidemiological features for the diagnosis or each of the DD’s
12. List the specimens to be collected and diagnostic tests to be performed to confirm a diagnosis for each DD.
What is normal and abnormal and the lesions

Case 22 - TRP

Heavy objects end up in the lower parts of the reticulum – so wires and ingested metal and with the contraction of
the reticulum the wire penetrates the reticulum wall and penetrates the diaphragm and has a short distance to
travel towards the heart and penetrates the pericardium causing this lesion

You can have wire migrating from reticulum to other places like the spleen or the liver

Macroscopic diagnosis – you do not need to take samples

Image
- Common finding
- Open chest cavity and lungs are compressed dorsally
and where the pericardium should be – there is
inflammatory exudate which is comprised of fibrin –
if you cut deeper = fibrinopurulent pericarditis
(common for TRP, chronic congestive heart failure
and you would expect chronic passive congestion
and you would find a wire

DPT 511 - Production animals

Bovine Pathology Case studies 2021

Instructions

13. Provide one or more morphological diagnosis

14. Provide an aetiological diagnosis or develop a list of differential diagnosis – to know what samples to focus on
15. List key epidemiological features for the diagnosis or each of the DD’s
16. List the specimens to be collected and diagnostic tests to be performed to confirm a diagnosis for each DD.
What is normal and abnormal and the lesions

Case 23 – Abomasa ulcers

Be careful as you may get ulcers in the abomasum that ruptures because the animal present with acute abdominal
pain and vets give cortisone and NSAIDS relieve the pain -> rupture of ulcer
Common cause of NSAIDS which are given – for dairy cows with colic clinically as well -> perforate ulcers

Image
- Jersey cow
- Opened abdominal cavity with an intense hyperemic
serosal surface – covered with fibrinous exudate
- Sero-fibrinous peritonitis – due to abomasal ulcer
perforation

Dairy cows/calves – common cause of mortalities -> often

animals are in groups, intensive and TMR and can develops
with high demand on lactation can develop ulcers

DPT 511 - Production animals

Bovine Pathology Case studies 2021

Instructions

17. Provide one or more morphological diagnosis

18. Provide an aetiological diagnosis or develop a list of differential diagnosis – to know what samples to focus on
19. List key epidemiological features for the diagnosis or each of the DD’s
20. List the specimens to be collected and diagnostic tests to be performed to confirm a diagnosis for each DD.
What is normal and abnormal and the lesions

Case 24- haemophilus/histophilus somnis

In cattle – common causes are often thrombomelingoencephalomalacia and needs to be distinguished from CCN

The causes is haemophilus/histophilus somnis – intensive and respiratory disease complex in feedlot conditions –
can cause pneumonia and respiratory conditions and can go to the brain and cause infarctions

Diagnosis
Image
- Brain of a bovine with demarcated circular brown, - IHC – brain in formalin
red areas on the surface of the cerebrum - But being a bacterium 0 bacterial culture for confirmation
- Areas of infarction of the brain - Not a normal commensal in the respiratory tract – finding it is of significance
Remember the case of CCN – commonly will not be circular - Can be added to CNS signs as you will get similar CCN – CNS manifestations of blindness, aggression, and
in shape but linear and large patches aimless walking and Cerebral babesia is another DD

Circular areas in the brain you need to consider infarction DDs for CNS signs
from thrombosis
- Haemophilus somnis
Area of grey discoloration of the meninges – brain develops - Cerebral babesia
from embryonal neuroectodermal crests – skin and neural - CCN – thiamine deficiency
tissue develop from the same origin, and you can get
melanosis of the brain