Abstract: ALTHOUGH the importance of a thorough and objective clinical examination cannot be overemphasised, the use of local anaesthesia is an integral part of lameness investigation to confirm the site or sites of pain. The results of the clinical examination may be misleading; fetlock flexion may exacerbate markedly the degree of lameness but this is a non-specific test because the proximal and distal interphalangeal joints are, inevitably, stressed concurrently. Selective local anaesthesia helps in choosing which area to X-ray and in the interpretation of radiographic abnormalities which may or may not be clinically significant.

Abstract: As in all competent investigations of disease the clinician must examine the history objectively and in detail. Affected pigs are identified and inspected in relationship to their specific husbandry system. The time course of the illness is noted. Simple observation of the pigs in their usual environment should define the basic problem as one of locomotor disability. A more detailed characterisation and interpretation of clinical signs can then proceed. Affected animals should be singled out and observed in good light moving about on a clean, dry and level surface. Pigs are not amenable to handling and so detailed physical examination should be deferred until the inspection and assessment of behaviour has been completed with minimal interference. The next stage is to confine the pig so as to carry out superficial palpation of limbs, joints and muscles. With placid adults this may be achieved by simply coaxing them into a corner. If possible, manipulation of the limbs should then also be performed on the free standing animal. Restraint is finally necessary to examine the feet, systematically starting with the sole of the foot and working proximally, and to complete detailed palpation and manipulation of the limbs.

Abstract: THE ability to determine the number of fetuses carried by pregnant ewes is potentially of considerable benefit to the flockmaster. Advantages include the early identification of non-pregnant ewes with consequent savings in feeding costs and the opportunity to sell these animals advantageously at a time when ewe mutton prices are at a maximum. It also provides the opportunity to regulate late pregnancy feeding more closely to the requirements of ewes which can be grouped according to the number of fetuses carried, thus achieving further economies in the use of expensive feedingstuffs. The closer control of late pregnancy nutrition can be expected to lead to increased birth weights of multiples and fewer overweight single lambs and, through these effects, to reduced levels of lamb mortality. Feeding in relation to individual requirements is also likely to reduce the incidence of metabolic disorders such as pregnancy toxaemia and thus result in reductions in ewe mortality. The division of the flock into barren, single, twin, and triplet-bearing ewes, whether on the hill, in fields or in the inwintering house, also makes for easier management at lambing time.

Abstract: IT was early in the 1900s that a German microbiologist, Paul Ehrlich, introduced the concept of 'horror autotoxicus' to express the underlying biological principle that an animal generally does not respond to the chemical groupings in its own body. Ehrlich speculated that if it did, the body's immune system would injure its own tissues, causing autoimmune disease. It is now known that autoimmunity is a primary cause or a secondary contributor in many well recognised diseases. Autoimmune disease is characterised by the presence in the blood and, or, tissues, of autoantibodies or autoreactive cells. Autoantibodies are capable of reacting against self components. Autoreactive cells are immunocytes capable of also reacting against self. For a disease to be truly autoimmune, these autoantibodies and autoreactive cells must be involved in the pathogenesis.

Abstract: A number of these conditions may be diagnosed on plain radiography, eg, 50 per cent of intervertebral disc protrusions; vertebral tumours, lumbosacral spondylosis, wedge vertebra, butterfly vertebra, spina bifida and traumatic injuries. The myelogram aids in determining the extent of spinal cord impairment. It produces indirect evidence of pressure on the spinal cord by showing alterations to the normal flow of contrast medium in the subarachnoid space. The contrast medium of choice is iohexol (Omnipaque; Nyegaard [UK]) at a dose rate of 015 to 0 3 ml/kg bodyweight of a solution containing 300 mg iodine/ml. The contrast medium may be administered following a cistemal or lumbar puncture. In practice the majority of

Abstract: Toxocara canis is the commonest helminth of the dog. It occurs in all types of canidae, from the fox to the most pampered pet. It should be assumed that virtually every litter of pups is affected to a greater or lesser degree. T canis usually causes little obvious clinical effect, but illthrift, pot belly, diarrhoea, vomiting and respiratory signs frequently accompany heavy infections in young pups, and there may be nervous signs and death. This is also the nematode that causes the greatest concern to the general public, because its zoonotic potential has received so much media coverage in recent times. The life cycle of T canis is complex and the features most important to the understanding of the epidemiology of toxocariasis in the domestic dog are summarised below. The eggs are sticky, resistant to most disinfectants and can survive for many months. Adult worms are spontaneously expelled from pups during the early months of life. However, small numbers of egglaying worms are found in about 10 per cent of adult dogs. Substantial numbers may be found in lactating bitches during the period of perinatal immunosuppression. Somatic migration will occur if embryonated eggs are ingested by man. Normally, human infections are apparently asymptomatic but disease can occur if massive numbers of larvae invade the body (visceral larva migrans) or if one larva comes to rest in the eye (ocular larva migrans). The former mostly affects children under the age of three and is usually associated with pica, while ocular larva migrans is seen in older children and sometimes adults. Figures (still awaiting official verification) indicate that 13 cases of toxocariasis were reported to the British medical authorities in 1982. However, it is not a notifiable disease and unreported or undiagnosed cases may also have occurred. In statistical terms the incidence of human disease is very low. Nevertheless it is clearly the responsibility of the veterinary profession to promote worm control as an integral part of responsible pet ownership. This will ensure that the zoonotic risk is kept to an absolute minimum. The development of Toxascaris leonina in the dog or cat is confined to the wall and lumen of the gastrointestinal tract and so there can be no prenatal or transmammary transmission. Infections tend, therefore, to be acquired later in life than in the case of T canis with the highest prevalence occurring in the six-to 12-month-old age group. Migration of T leonina larvae to the body tissues does occur in animals other than the dog or cat (or their feral relatives) following the ingestion of embryonated eggs. There is as yet no evidence to implicate T leonina as a cause of visceral larva migrans.

Abstract: THE veterinary surgeon providing service to a farm has to realise that money spent on veterinary fees must be transferred out of other investments. In general, that transfer should not be made unless it can be shown that the veterinary programme will be more profitable than the investment alternatives. The veterinary surgeon who understands economic principles and can do cost benefit analyses should be better able to represent the client's best interests.

Abstract: VARIOUS streptococci have been associated with clinical disease in pigs for some years. In the 1950s the British Veterinary Association's report on diseases of farm livestock described a clinical syndrome in which meningitis and, or, arthritis caused by a streptococcus affected pigs between two and six weeks of age. The earliest signs of infection were a raised temperature and anorexia. Affected animals displayed a swaying gait followed by an increasing inability to maintain balance, until they lay on their sides and made paddling movements with all four legs. Swollen joints were also noted and if the animal recovered, the swelling sometimes persisted for several months. This original summary of the condition is difficult to improve upon, although the syndrome described has taken on a far more obtrusive character in pig farms in the United Kingdom during the 1970s and 1980s. It is now generally considered that the disease described in 1956 was not caused by a Streptococcus suis type 2, but rather by a type 1 version which was a singular capsule type, and it was not until 1973 that Windsor and Elliott reported the presence of type 2 in East Anglia. It is a matter for debate how long this subtype had been present in the British pig industry; it had certainly been recorded in Holland 10 years earlier (de Moor 1963). By 1974 outbreaks were being reported in numerous pig herds with the disease being characterised by sudden onset, mortality levels of between zero and 20 per cent and an age incidence of between one and 16 weeks. It appeared in a variety of husbandry and feeding systems, with symptoms of incoordination, collapse, paralysis and paddling of the limbs in a recumbent state. Death often followed. The sudden onset of the condition and its equally sudden disappearance make the assessment of treatment and preventive measures difficult.

Abstract: CRITICALLY ill animals in need of fluid therapy may be suffering from a wide variety of surgical or medical conditions but they share one common feature. Because of their primary condition, they have developed or are at risk of developing a life-threatening disruption of fluid and electrolyte balance. The aim of fluid therapy is to correct these disorders. Some thought should be given at the outset as to where such patients are to be kept while undergoing treatment. Ideally, they should be housed in a cage sited in an area where maximum patient surveillance is possible. This is likely to be somewhere close to the operating theatre or consulting room. Such an area must be warm, well lit and amply supplied with power points and with ready access to oxygen. Fluid therapy is not complicated: the necessary equipment is readily available and inexpensive and access to a clinical laboratory for routine haematology and biochemistry, although desirable, is by no means essential. Disorders of fluid and electrolyte balance can develop as a result of: (1) Decreased or inadequate fluid intake (primary water depletion) (2) Excessive or abnormal losses of secretion from the gastrointestinal, respiratory or urinary tracts, or losses in the form of exudates from discharging wounds and burns, or extensive pleural or peritoneal effusions (mixed water and electrolyte depletion).

Abstract: THE use of radiography as a diagnostic aid has graduated from the simple investigation of skeletal trauma to the investigation of a wide range of disorders both of the skeletal system and of the soft tissues. The reliability, however, of the diagnostic information gained is very dependent on the quality of the radiographic image. While there are many problems encountered during radiography in practice, poor results are too often blamed on inadequate equipment when the faults are more related to defects in technique which could be corrected by attention to detail. The most common faults in radiographic quality are presented here with suggestions as to how these are caused and may be corrected. However, seldom is there only one fault present and some faults may have more than one causative factor.

Abstract: THE Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 permits the taking of any wild bird which has 'been disabled . . . and was taken solely for the purpose of tending it and releasing it when no longer disabled'. Special provisions apply to certain species, such as diurnal birds of prey which are listed on Schedule 4 of the Act, but a General Licence has been issued to permit their retention in captivity without registration for veterinary treatment for a period of up to six weeks. It is clear, therefore, that there are legal as well as ethical reasons why veterinary surgeons should concern themselves with wild bird casualties. Large numbers of wild birds are presented to veterinary practices each year. Such patients present many problems, not least of all because of the variety of species involved and the different approaches that may be needed to their management and treatment. The provision of first aid for wild birds is of particular importance because prompt action is often needed and the prognosis may hinge upon the quality of the initial treatment. There are six main types of wild bird casualty which may be presented. (1) Nestlings or fledglings (sometimes, but not always, orphaned) (2) Birds with physical injuries (3) Birds with an infectious, parasitic, nutritional or metabolic disease (4) Poisoning cases (5) Oil pollution victims (6) Birds which are suffering from hypothermia, hyperthermia, electrocution or immersion (drowning)

Abstract: A simple recording system which can be used in any veterinary office has been described. The results of the analyses are used when making a visit and to institute disease control measures. Many disease preventive measures essential to pig keeping are discussed. The busy practitioner with just a few pigs under his or her care will need to be familiar with these.

Abstract: WINTER rations for dairy cows in the United Kingdom are usually made up by combining a home grown forage crop, typically grass silage, with a concentrate ration, a mixture of feed materials designed to balance the nutrients provided by the silage or other home grown forage. Whether the concentrate ration is purchased wholly or in part from a feed compounder it is bound to be at least twice as expensive as home produced feed in terms of the major nutrient, which is metabolisable energy. Before the imposition of quotas on milk production, money spent on concentrate feeds could be justified so long as their use led to increases in yield. As a result, many dairy farmers were finding it profitable to provide as much as 70 per cent of the metabolisable energy required for maintenance and lactation in the form of purchased dairy cake. The system of quotas and the supplementary levy which, in essence, set a limit on income from milk sales for each farm, has changed the rules. Strategies for dealing with quotas take two basic forms: fewer cows or less milk per cow. Both strategies, however, call for a far greater input from home produced forage relative to purchased concentrate. This article is written for the veterinary surgeon whose advice is sought by a dairy farmer on problems likely to be related to nutrition. These could be inadequate yields or margins over purchasd feeds, or production-related diseases such as infertility, ketosis or laminitis. In the typical case of a farmer feeding grass silage and dairy cake, the veterinarian may reasonably expect the following (unless inquiries indicate otherwise).

Abstract: ANAEMIA is a common presenting sign in feline medicine. More than 10 per cent of cats referred to our clinics have anaemia, and 7 per cent have profound anaemia, with a haemoglobin concentration on presentation of less than 8 00 g/dl. Feline anaemia can also be a frustrating clinical problem. A large proportion of cases remain undiagnosed and the prognosis in those in which a diagnosis is reached is remarkably poor: more than 80 per cent of cats with anaemia referred to us have died within 18 months of presentation. There are a number of reasons why feline anaemia is such a difficult problem. Cats have a well developed ability to adapt their lifestyle to compensate for disease processes and therefore clinical signs may not become apparent until the anaemia is profound. In addition, poor exercise tolerance is one of the most important early presenting signs in anaemia in other species, but this is rarely noticed by cat owners. Anaemia is a serious problem also because of the nature of the underlying disease processes with which it is commonly associated in cats, such as feline leukaemia virus infection and neoplasms. Anaemia in the cat, as in any other species, is not a diagnosis. Rather, anaemia is a clinical sign associated with a number of conditions and if the prognosis is to be assessed correctly and the appropriate treatment is to be instituted it is vital that the animal receives a thorough clinical and laboratory investigation.