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The article presents a case study of a 5-year-old, 500 kilo gram Appaloosa stallion that was referred to the Auburn University large animal teaching hospital for an evaluation following a possible neck injury. It reports that the physical examination found that the stallion was sensitive to palpation over the poll and uncomfortable lowering head to graze.

The article presents a case study of a 4-year-old castrated male Standard Poodle found dead in the driveway of a home in Virginia. After consuming a bag of potato chips, the dog did not come when called and was found lying on its side in the driveway. It reports the body was submitted for necropsy, which it revealed two roughly triangular, dark-red contusions adjacent to the hematoma. It reflects the diagnoses for the skin lesions, which include vasculopathy, thrombotic and trauma.

32. EFFECTS OF BODY COMPOSITION ON ISOFLURANE ANESTHESIA EFFICACY IN MICROTUS PENNSYLVANICUS (MEADOW VOLE). We evaluated the effects of body composition, in particular lipid mass, on the efficacy of isoflurane, [...]

During computed tomography ( CT), the appearance of disease involving the pulmonary acinus may be described using terms such as atelectasis, ground-glass opacity, or consolidation. These CT signs, however, have not been correlated with histologic findings in canine pulmonary disease. To facilitate interpretation of lung diseases by CT signs, our goals were to review the morphologic organization of the lung and evaluate the medical records of four dogs with different types of pulmonary acinar disease. Anatomic review focused on understanding the pulmonary acinus and the secondary pulmonary lobule; the secondary pulmonary lobule is a fundamental unit for interpretation in people. All dogs had similar CT findings of fully expanded lungs with increased attenuation and partial-to-complete obscuring of the pulmonary blood vessels. Histologic findings varied between dogs and included partial-to-complete filling of airspaces with cells or fluid, interstitial thickening, increased capillary blood volume, or a combination of these findings. Final diagnoses were hemorrhagic pneumonia, bronchiolar carcinoma, metastatic mammary adenocarcinoma, and pulmonary edema. In summary, the morphologic organization of the lungs is complex and has implications for diagnostic interpretation needing further evaluation in dogs. In this study, increased lung attenuation during CT due to disease localized to the pulmonary acini was due to the displacement of air from the lungs and not to the microscopic distribution of lesions within the pulmonary acinus. Imaging descriptors that classify diseases according to structures larger than the pulmonary acini, for example, regions of the secondary pulmonary lobule or larger, may be appropriate for dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submaximal tests of aerobic fitness typically extrapolate oxygen consumption from heart rate. Because heart rate is influenced by hydration level, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of hydration status on the VO2max scores predicted by a submaximal cycle ergometry assessment. Fifteen male cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy took the heart rate-based USAF submaximal cycle ergometry fitness test twice over a 3-day period, once following a 12-hour fluid-restriction period (the dehydrated trial) and once following a hydration protocol in which the subjects drank a volume of water equivalent to 2% body weight 10 hours before the test and an additional volume equivalent to 1% body weight at least 30 minutes before the test (the hydrated trial). Prior to testing, subjects were weighed and a urine sample was collected. The urine specific gravity (USG) was measured using a refractometer. Our results indicated that, during the dehydrated trial, subjects' USG was significantly higher and their weight and VO2max scores were significantly lower than during the hydrated trial. The change in the VO2max score was significantly correlated to the change in percent body weight between the two trials. These data suggest that hydration status affects heart rate-based, submaximal estimates of VO2max. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses that the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has received several reports of dogs exposed to potassium bitartrate.

Tail tip amputation with minimal restraint is not widely used for mouse phlebotomy. In part, this infrequency may reflect policies influenced by tail tip amputation procedures for genotyping, which involve greater handling and tissue removal. To assess tail tip amputation with minimal restraint as a phlebotomy technique, we compared it with 2 more common methods: scruffing with facial vein puncture and lateral tail vein incision with minimal restraint. Blood glucose levels, audible and ultrasonic vocalizations, postphlebotomy activity and grooming behavior, open field and elevated plus maze behaviors, nest-building scores, and histologic changes at the phlebotomy site were evaluated. Mice in the facial vein phlebotomy group produced more audible vocalizations, exhibited lower postphlebotomy activity in the open field, and had more severe histologic changes than did mice in the tail incision and tail tip amputation groups. Facial vein phlebotomy did not affect grooming behavior relative to sham groups, whereas tail vein incision-but not tail tip amputation-increased tail grooming compared with that in control mice. Blood glucose levels, nest-building scores, and elevated plus maze behavior did not differ between groups, and no mice in any group produced ultrasonic vocalizations. Tail tip amputation mice did not perform differently than sham mice in any metric analyzed, indicating that this technique is a potentially superior method of blood collection in mice in terms of animal wellbeing.

Case summary A 4-year-old, spayed female, domestic shorthair cat was presented for evaluation due to a 4 day history of inappetence and lethargy. Physical examination revealed mild dehydration and blindness of the left eye. Abnormal imaging findings included a well-margined soft tissue mass with irregular central cavity located in the dorsal aspect of the caudal lung lobe. Cytological examination of the mass revealed chronic inflammation with hemorrhage. Tests for parasitic and fungal diseases were negative. Ophthalmic examination 17 days after the cat was initially presented revealed severe diffuse pathology of both retinas. Left renomegaly was noted 22 days after the initial presentation, and cytological examination of samples obtained from the right vitreous, left kidney and the pulmonary mass yielded atypical epithelial cells exhibiting malignant changes. Post-mortem examination following euthanasia revealed renal transitional cell carcinoma with metastasis to both eyes, lungs and skeletal muscle. Immunohistochemical evaluation of the neoplastic cells in the eye revealed moderate cytoplasmic reactivity for CK7. CK20 immunohistochemistry was negative. Relevance and novel information To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of renal transitional cell carcinoma with ocular metastasis in a cat. In addition, this report describes immunohistochemistry results of transitional cell carcinoma in a cat using CK7 and CK20., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Pain management in laboratory animals is generally accomplished by using opioids and NSAIDs. However, opioid use is hindered by controlled substance requirements and a relatively short duration of action. In this study, we compared the analgesic efficacy of firocoxib (a cyclooxygenase-2-selective NSAID) with that of buprenorphine in the mouse model of plantar incisional pain by objective measurement of mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia using von Frey and Hargreaves equipment, respectively. Our experimental design included 5 treatment groups: firocoxib at 10 mg/kg IP every 24 h (F10 group); firocoxib at 20 mg/kg IP every 24 h (F20); buprenorphine at 0.2 mg/kg SC every 8 h; intraperitoneal normal saline every 24 h; and sham group (anesthesia, no incision) treated with firocoxib at 20 mg/kg IP every 24 h (sham+F20). All mice underwent nociceptive assays at 24 h before and 4, 24, 48, and 72 h after surgery. Buprenorphine alleviated allodynia at all time points after incision. The F10 treatment alleviated allodynia at 4, 24, and 48 h, whereas F20 alleviated allodynia at 24, 48, and 72 h. None of the treatments alleviated thermal hyperalgesia at 4h. Except for F10 and buprenorphine at 24 h, all treatments alleviated thermal hyperalgesia at 24, 48, and 72 h. No significant differences were noted between the 2 doses of firocoxib and buprenorphine regarding mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia at all time points. In conclusion, the analgesic efficacy of firocoxib is comparable to that of buprenorphine in this mouse pain model.

The inhalation anesthetic isoflurane is five times more soluble in lipid than in lean tissue. Using the meadow vole as a model, the authors sought to determine the effect of body composition on isoflurane induction and recovery times.