LIVER DISEASES

HEPATITIS
 Toxic hepatitis:

• The common causes of toxic hepatitis in farm

animals are:
• Inorganic poisons –
• copper, phosphorus, arsenic ,selenium;
• Organic poisons
• - carbon tetrachloride, hexachloroethane,
chloroform
 POISONOUS PLANTS
• include the following:
• Weeds
• Pasture and cultivated plants
• Trees and shrubs
• Fungi
• Algae
• MISCELLANEOUS FARM CHEMICALS include dried
poultry waste, cottonseed cake.
 Infectious hepatitis
• Diffuse hepatic lesions in animals are caused by infectious
agents. the significant ones are:
• The virus of Rift Valley fever
• Bacillus piliformis as the cause of Tyzzer’s disease
• herpesvirus 1 of viral rhinopneumonitis Chalamydia sp.
• Severe case of equine viral arteritis manifest signs of hepatitis
• histoplasmosis
 Parasitic hepatitis

• Acute and chronic liver fluke infestation

• Migrating larvae of Ascaris sp.
• Fibrosing granulomas of liver in horses with
chronic shistosomiasis
Nutritional hepatitis
• Selenium and vitamin E deficiency are factors
in dietary hepatic necrosis.
 Clinical findings:
HORSES
• The signs of hepatitis are anorexia, mental depression, with
excitement in some cases, muscular weakness, jaundice
,recumbency and coma with intermittent convulsion.
is also a variable sign in horses.
• Clinical finding include weight loss, dullness, and depression.
Other findings include jaundice, tachycardia, intermittent
fever, abdominal pain, ventral body wall edema, clotting
deficiency, muscle degenration and diarrhea or constipation.
Jaundice is a constant feature in acute hepatic necrosis. In
chronic liver disease, the course is several months.
 HEPATIC DISEASE in cattle
• is characterized by weight loss, dullness and
depression. Signs of hepatic encephalopathy
include blindness, head pressing, excitability,
ataxia and weakness.
JAUNDICE
• Jaundice is a clinical sign which
often arises in diseases of the liver
and biliary system
 TYPES

hemolytic jaundice
• Extrahepatic biliary obstruction
 hemolytic jaundice:
• Hemolytic jaundice is common in animals and may
be caused by
• bacterial toxins,
• invasion of erythrocytes by protozoa or viruses,
• inorganic and organic poisons and
• immunological reactions.
bacterial toxins cause intravascular hemolysis are
bacillary hemoglobinuria of cattle and Leptospirosis.
 Hemolytic jaundice:

• disease in which hemolysis occurs include

• babesiosis,
• anaplasmosis,
• equine infectious anemia.
• Chronic copper poisoning,
• selenium poisoning in sheep,
• phenothiazine poisoning in horses,
• bites by some snakes
 Hemolytic jaundice:

• It is generally stated that the jaundice is

hemolytic and results from the destruction of
excess erythrocytes .
• it appears more probable that it is due to
retention of bile pigments
 Hemolytic jaundice:

• Hemolytic jaundice is characterized clinically

by a moderate degree of yellowing of the
mucosae, and by the presence of
hemoglobinuria in severe cases.
• Clinicopathological findings indicate the
presence of anemia,
 Extrahepatic biliary obstruction:
• Obstruction of the bile ducts by calculi or
compression by tumor masses is a rare
occurrence in farm animals.
• Commonly listed causes are obstruction of the
duct by nematodes and inflammation of the
bile ducts by extension from enteritis or by
infestation with Trematodes.
 Hepatic encephalopathy
causative factors

• Many factors including hypoglycemia, and

failure of normal hepatic detoxification
mechanisms, leading to the accumulation of
excess amino acids and ammonia, or of
acetylcholine, and the liberation of toxic
breakdown products of liver parenchyma.
 hepatic encephalopathy (C.F)

• Nervous signs include.

• Hyperexciatibility
• Convulsions
• Muscle tremor and weakness
• Dullness
• Compulsive walking
• Head-pressing
• Failure to respond
 Alteration in size of the liver :

• Great variation in the size of the liver is often

seen at necropsy but clinical detection is not
easy unless the liver is grossly enlarged.
 Displacement of the liver:

• The liver may be displaced from its normal

position and protrude into the thoracic cavity
through a diaphragmatic hernia causing
respiratory distress and abnormal findings on
percussion of the chest.
 Rupture of the liver:

• Rupture of the liver is an occasional accident

in animals occurring usually as a result of
trauma. In most instances rupture results in
death from hemorrhage although small breaks
in the capsule may heal.
 Examination of the liver:

• When disease of the liver is suspected after a

general clinical examination, special
techniques of palpation,
• biopsy and
• biochemical tests of function can be used to
determine further the status of the liver.
 Palpation and percussion:

• In cattle, the liver is well concealed by the rib cage on

the right hand side and it edge cannot be palpated. A
general impression of the size of the liver can be
obtained by percussion of the area of liver dullness
but accurate definition is not usually attempted.
Deep percussion or palpation to detect the presence
of hepatic pain can be carried out over the area of
liver dullness in the posterior thoracic region on the
right hand side.
 Laboratory tests for hepatic disease and
function:

• Hepatic disease is difficult to diagnose based

on clinical findings alone and the use of
laboratory tests is necessary.
• Sorbitol dehydrogenase SDH also called L-
iditol dehydrogenase (ID)
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST, previously
known as SGOT) or Alanine aminotransferase
(ALT, previously known as SGPT)
• Arginase
• Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT)
 Principles of treatment in disease of the
liver:
• In diffuse disease of the liver no general treatment is
satisfactory and the main aim should be to remove
the source of the damaging agent. Death may occur
during this stage because of hypoglycemia, and the
blood glucose level must be maintained by oral or
intravenous injections of glucose.
• Diets high in carbohydrate, calcium
 Treatment:

Protein is avoided because of the danger

of ammonia intoxication. The diet should
be high in carbohydrate and calcium, and
low in protein and fat
The oral administration of broad spectrum
antibiotics has been introduced in man
Hepatic fibrosis is considered to be a final
stage in hepatitis and treatment is not
usually undertaken.