Abstract
The present study was carried out to classify, assess and manage the different anomalies of the axial and appendicular skeleton in cow calves and to determine the outcome of possible conservative and surgical management, as well as the survival period of each case. Thirty-one calves with thirty-nine skeletal anomalies were retrospectively investigated. These animals were admitted to the clinic of Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Egypt. The anomalies were 2 hydrocephalus, 5 meningocele, 5 cleft palate, 2 polymelia, 13 flexural deformities (FD) of the carpal and fetlock joints, 3 arthrogyroposis, 2 lordosis, 1 spinabifida, 3 anury, 1 achondroplastic malformation (bulldog calf), 1 wry nose, and 1 lateral patellar luxation. The clinical signs varied according to the different anomalies. Some of the reported anomalies had a clinical significance on the calf's awareness, suckling behavior or locomotion function such as meningocele, hydrocephalus, cleft palate, polymelia, FD, arthrogyroposis, and lateral luxation of the patella. The other defects such as lordosis, anury, non-penetrating spina bifida, and wry nose had no significant effects on the animal condition. The surgical treatment gave satisfactory results in cases of FD of the carpal and fetlock joints and in a case of polymelia which enable the treated animals to complete their life normally.
Highlights
In the recent years, the number of neonates suffering congenital anomalies increased
The anomalies that were reported in the vertebral column are brachyspina (Agerholm et al, 2006; Testoni et al, 2008), hemiveretebra, transitional vertebra, spina bifida, and some defects of the caudal vertebrae that form the tail such as agenesis of the tail, wry tail, brachyury and polyury (Moritomo et al, 1995, Shaw 1992)
The total number of axial and appendicular anomalies that reported in this study was thirty-nine anomalies
Summary
The number of neonates suffering congenital anomalies increased. Congenital anomalies are defects of structure or function that appear at birth (Blowey and Weaver, 2011). Congenital abnormalities of the bones may affect the axial or the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton abnormalities include the defects in the skull and the vertebral column. The anomalies that were reported in the vertebral column are brachyspina (the spine of the animal is short due to abnormalities in its segments such as the cervical, thoracic or lumbar vertebrae) (Agerholm et al, 2006; Testoni et al, 2008), hemiveretebra, transitional vertebra, spina bifida, and some defects of the caudal vertebrae that form the tail such as agenesis of the tail (anury), wry tail, brachyury and polyury (Moritomo et al, 1995, Shaw 1992)
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