Ultrasonographic features of the regressing yolk sac of normal captive Brown kiwi chicks (Apteryx mantelli) vary with age.

Brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) are a culturally significant ratite species endemic to New Zealand. Chicks can develop diseases of the yolk sac which can be fatal if not promptly recognized and treated. Ultrasound examination of the yolk sac is an important component in the evaluation of chicks with suspected yolk sac disease.

Disseminated infection in a dog.

Case History: A 4-year-old, male neutered Borzoi presented for unlocalised pain and frequent episodes of vocalisation.

Clinical Findings: Pain was localised to the lumbar spine and radiographs revealed a L3-L4 lesion consistent with discospondylitis. The dog was treated for presumptive bacterial discospondylitis with surgical debridement, spinal stabilisation, and cephalexin.

Case Report: Adrenal Epithelial Cyst in an 11-Year-Old Leptailurus Serval.

Case Description: A serval (Leptailurus serval) presented for progressive enlargement of the right adrenal gland, which had been found incidentally on abdominal ultrasound 2 years previously and upon subsequent ultrasound examinations enlarged progressively from 1.26 to 1.43 cm.

Calcaneotibial screws for immobilisation of the tarsocrural joint of dogs in extension: effect of the angle of screw placement on the force to failure in a canine cadaveric model.

Aims: To compare the force to failure under axial loading of a calcaneotibial screw placed approximately perpendicular to the tibia with that of a screw placed perpendicular to the calcaneus, when used to immobilise the tarsus in an canine model.

Methods: Twelve pairs of cadaveric hindlimbs from large breed dogs, without orthopaedic or soft tissue disease, were prepared by transecting the limb at the level of the stifle and stripping the limbs of all musculature from the stifle to mid-metatarsus, including removal of the common calcaneal tendon from all limbs. The limbs in each pair were randomly assigned to receive a calcaneotibial screw placed perpendicular to the long axis of either the calcaneus (C group) or the tibia (T group) with the tarsus in full extension.

Effect of insulation with bubble wrap and an absorbent pad on heat loss in anaesthetised cats.

To evaluate the efficacy of insulating the limbs and thorax of cats with a combination of bubble wrap and an absorbent, plastic-lined pad in reducing heat loss during ovariohysterectomy. A preliminary study was performed to compare heat loss of 1 L bags of Hartmann's solution heated to 38°C which were either wrapped in two layers of bubble wrap and an absorbent pad (n = 6) or were unwrapped (n = 6). Bags were allowed to cool in a temperature-controlled room and the temperature of the bags was measured every 10 minutes for 60 minutes.

The hypoattenuating ocular lens on CT is not always due to cataract formation.

Hypoattenuating ocular lenses on CT have been described with cataract formation in humans, however published studies are currently lacking regarding this finding in veterinary patients. The purpose of this retrospective and prospective study was to describe the varying CT appearances of the ocular lens in vivo, and investigate the causes for CT density variations in a population of cats and dogs. A total of 102 canine and feline patients with CT of the head acquired at the authors' hospital between May 2011 and March 2019 were included.

Canine Degenerative Lumbosacral Stenosis: Prevalence, Impact And Management Strategies.

Canine degenerative lumbosacral stenosis (DLSS) is a syndrome of low back pain with or without neurologic dysfunction associated with compression of the . Most commonly occurring in medium- to large-breed dogs of middle to older age, German shepherd and working dogs are predisposed. Diagnosis is based on a combination of clinical signs, advanced imaging and ruling out other differential diagnoses.

Obstructive sleep apnea in a Chihuahua successfully managed with ondansetron.

While the persistence of clinical signs related to brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, particularly sleep-disordered breathing patterns following appropriate surgical management is likely to be relatively rare, this potential sequela needs to be considered, along with being aware of possible medical management options such as serotonin antagonists.

Repeatability of Three-Dimensional Computed Tomographic Volumetric Measurement of Lumbosacral Intervertebral Foramina in German Shepherd Dogs.

Objectives:  This article determines the repeatability of a recently reported method of volumetric measurement of the lateral intervertebral neurovascular foramina at the lumbosacral junction in German shepherd dogs.

Materials And Methods:  Batch files including the intervertebral neurovascular foramina were derived from previously obtained computed tomography studies of the extended lumbosacral junction of 20 German shepherd dogs and converted into volume datasets. Three observers independently performed five measurements of the left and right lumbosacral intervertebral neurovascular foramina in each dog, using an Extended Brilliance Workstation (Phillips, The Netherlands) to generate a volume of the lumbosacral intervertebral foramina in cubic millimetres, as described by Worth and colleagues in 2017.

Provisional heritability estimates of four distraction index traits in a breeding population of German Shepherd dogs.

AIM To obtain provisional estimates of the heritability (h ) of passive laxity of the coxofemoral joints of a breeding colony of German Shepherd dogs, measured using the PennHIP distraction index (DI). METHODS Records were obtained of the PennHIP DI of right and left hips of 195 German Shepherd dogs (377 DI records) from the dog breeding colony of the New Zealand Police Dog Breeding Centre between 2003 and 2016, as well as pedigree records of 884 animals over four generations. Estimates of h and variance components for the log transformed DI data were obtained using restricted maximum likelihood procedures with a single trait sire model.

Mechanical testing of a steel-reinforced epoxy resin bar and clamp for external skeletal fixation of long-bone fractures in cats.

Aims: To provide veterinarians with confidence when using a commercially available epoxy resin in external skeletal fixators (ESF), testing was conducted to determine exothermia during curing of the epoxy resin compared to polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), the hardness of the epoxy resin as a bar over 16 weeks, and the strength of the epoxy resin bar compared with metal clamps in similarly constructed Type 1a ESF constructs simulating the repair of feline long bone fractures.

Methods: Exothermia of the epoxy resin during curing was tested against PMMA with surface temperatures recorded over the first 15 minutes of curing, using four samples of each product. The hardness of 90 identical epoxy resin bars was tested by subjecting them to cyclic loads (1,000 cycles of 20.

Heritabilities and genetic trends for elbow score as recorded by the New Zealand Veterinary Association Elbow Dysplasia Scheme (1992-2013) in four breeds of dog.

Aim: To estimate the heritability of the New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) elbow phenotype, obtain estimated breeding values (EBV) for the worst-elbow score and estimate the genetic trends for this trait in four populous breeds of dogs, using the records from the NZVA Canine Elbow Dysplasia Scheme database (1992-2013).

Methods: Overall, 4,070 elbow records from a pedigree of 11,311 dogs were available for animals scored between 1992 and 2013. The worst elbow score between the left and right elbows was identified for each dog and used for EBV analysis.

Evaluation of an indirect oscillometric blood pressure monitor in anaesthetised dogs at three different anatomical locations.

Aims: To evaluate the agreement between invasive and non-invasive measurements of blood pressure (BP) using an oscillometer (PetTrust) at three different anatomical locations in anaesthetised dogs under different haemodynamic conditions.

Methods: Eight adult Greyhounds weighing 23.5-36.

Computed tomographic evaluation of dynamic alteration of the canine lumbosacral intervertebral neurovascular foramina.

Objective: To develop a computed tomographic (CT) method to measure the volume of the lumbosacral intervertebral neurovascular foramina (IVF) in dogs, and determine the effect of the range of motion of the lumbosacral (LS) junction on this measurement in German shepherd dogs (GSDs) with degenerative lumbosacral stenosis (DLSS) compared to unaffected controls.

Study Design: In vivo analysis and retrospective case series.

Sample Population: Twenty-four working Police GSDs, 12 diagnosed with DLSS and 12 unaffected by DLSS were compared to 10 Greyhounds without DLSS.

Effect of dorsal laminectomy and dorsal annulectomy with partial lumbosacral discectomy on the volume of the lateral intervertebral neuroforamina in dogs when the lumbosacral junction is extended.

Objective: To determine the effect of dorsal annulectomy and partial discectomy on the volume of the lumbosacral lateral intervertebral neurovascular foramina (intervertebral foramina) in canine cadavers during extension of the lumbosacral junction.

Study Design: Ex vivo experiment.

Sample Population: Lumbosacral specimens from 10 large breed dogs euthanatized for reasons unrelated to lumbosacral disease.

Subclinical Bacteriuria in Older Cats and its Association with Survival.

Background: Bacterial urinary tract infections are uncommon in cats in general but the prevalence increases to 29% in older cats with comorbidities (Veterinary Clinical Pathology 2008, 37, 317; Journal of Feline Medicine & Surgery 2007, 9, 124; Veterinary Microbiology 2009, 136, 130). Frequently, the infections are subclinical. The clinical relevance of subclinical bacteriuria (SB) is uncertain, and the optimal treatment requires clarification.

Histological evaluation of the soft palate in dogs affected by brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome.

Aims: To histologically examine tissue obtained from the thick rostral portion of the soft palate in severely affected brachycephalic dogs, and to quantitatively compare the histological findings with a similar region in control dogs.

Methods: Nine dogs examined for treatment of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) were prospectively recruited into the study. Four mesaticephalic dogs were also recruited following euthanasia for reasons unrelated to respiratory or gastrointestinal disease.

Prevalence of Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis and S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus in a sample of healthy dogs, cats and horses.

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of β-haemolytic Lancefield group C streptococci in healthy dogs, cats and horses; to determine if frequent contact with horses was associated with isolation of these species from dogs and cats; and to characterise recovered S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates by multilocus sequence typing.

Genetic evaluation of the total hip score of four populous breeds of dog, as recorded by the New Zealand Veterinary Association Hip Dysplasia Scheme (1991-2011).

Aim: To use estimated breeding value (EBV) analysis to investigate the genetic trend of the total hip score (to assess canine hip dysplasia) in four populous breeds of dogs using the records from the New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) Canine Hip Dysplasia Scheme database (1991 to 2011).

Methods: Estimates of heritability and EBV for the NZVA total hip score of individual dogs from the German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever and Rottweiler breeds were obtained using restricted maximum likelihood procedures with a within-breed linear animal model. The model included the fixed effects of gender, birth year, birth season, age at scoring and the random effect of animal.

Surgical repair of humeral condylar fractures in New Zealand working farm dogs - long-term outcome and owner satisfaction.

Aim: To report the long-term outcome, return to work and owner satisfaction, for working farm dogs in New Zealand following surgical repair of humeral condylar fractures.

Methods: A retrospective study of working dogs that had undergone surgical repair of one or more condylar fractures of the humerus was undertaken by searching the medical records of two referral veterinary clinics. The inclusion criteria were working dogs that had undergone open surgical reduction and internal fixation of a fracture of one or both humeral condyles.

Canine hip dysplasia: phenotypic scoring and the role of estimated breeding value analysis.

Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a developmental orthopaedic disease of the coxofemoral joints with a multifactorial mode of inheritance. Multiple gene effects are influenced by environmental factors; therefore, it is unlikely that a simple genetic screening test with which to identify susceptible individuals will be developed in the near future. In the absence of feasible methods for objectively quantifying clinical CHD, radiographic techniques have been developed and widely used to identify dogs for breeding which are less affected by the disease.

Canine soft tissue sarcoma managed in first opinion practice: outcome in 350 cases.

Objective: To determine outcome of dogs with a diagnosis of soft tissue sarcoma managed in first opinion practice.

Study Design: Retrospective, case-controlled study

Animals: Dogs (n = 350) with primary occurrence of a soft tissue sarcoma.

Methods: A previously validated questionnaire was sent to all veterinarians requesting clinical information and ultimate outcome for all dogs.

Expression of PGP 9.5 by enteric neurons in horses and donkeys with and without intestinal disease.

Intestinal motility disorders are an important problem in horses and donkeys and this study was carried out in order to evaluate the enteric neurons in animals with and without intestinal disease. Surplus intestinal tissue samples were collected from 28 horses undergoing exploratory laparotomy for colic. In addition, surplus intestinal samples from 17 control horses were collected immediately following humane destruction for clinical conditions not relating to the intestinal tract.