Quadricuspid aortic valve in a 16-year-old Quarter horse.

A 16-year-old horse, 400 kg, male, Quarter horse gelding was examined for a cardiac murmur that had not been previously heard. Physical examination revealed a regularly irregular pulse and a grade III/VI, decrescendo, diastolic murmur with a point of maximum intensity over the left heart base. Base-apex standard electrocardiographic examination at rest showed sinus rhythm with second-degree atrio-ventricular blocks.

Base-apex electrocardiographic examination in healthy cows of Chianina breed.

Background: The electrocardiography is a useful diagnostic tool for the characterization of the cardiac rhythm in veterinary medicine. In cattle, standard electrocardiographic (ECG) exam is commonly performed using the base-apex lead system and reference values for ECG parameters have been reported for different breeds of cows. However, no ECG studies have been conducted in Chianina breed.

Assessing genetic diversity in Italian goat populations using AFLP markers.

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to investigate the genetic variation in a sample of seven goat (Capra hircus) populations. A total of 210 individuals (30 per population) were analysed using seven selected AFLP primer combinations that produced 219 clear polymorphisms. Four autochthonous goat breeds (Bionda dell'Adamello, Frisa, Orobica and Verzaschese), two primary populations, one from the Lombardy Alps (Val di Livo) and the other from Sardinia island (Sarda) and a reference cosmopolitan breed (Saanen) were included in the analysis.