Nutrient Deficiencies and Minerals Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering macrominerals, microminerals, electrolytes, and nutrient deficiency/toxicity disorders in animals based on the lecture material.

Minerals

Inorganic essential nutrients required in small amounts ($2$ to $3\%$ of dry matter diet) that do not provide energy and are referred to as 'ASH' on food labels.

Macrominerals

A category of essential minerals required in larger amounts by the body, including Calcium ($\text{Ca}$), Phosphorus ($\text{P}$), Chloride ($\text{Chl}$), Magnesium ($\text{Mg}$), Potassium ($\text{K}$), and Sodium ($\text{Na}$).

Microminerals

Trace mineral nutrients required in small quantities, including Iron ($\text{Fe}$), Zinc ($\text{Zn}$), Copper ($\text{Cu}$), Iodine, Selenium, and Manganese.

Electrolytes

Minerals in salt found in the body that regulate fluid concentration inside cells and conduct energetic impulses.

Calcium

An essential mineral electrolyte and macromineral present in the greatest amount in the body, vital for bone and teeth structure, muscle contraction, blood clotting, and nerve impulse transmission.

Rickets

A condition where bones become soft and fragile, occurring in growing animals primarily due to a deficiency in calcium or phosphorus.

Nutritional Secondary Hyperparathyroidism

A condition characterized by bone reabsorption resulting from an excess or severe ratio imbalance of calcium and phosphorus.

Osteomalacia

A condition characterized by the softening of bones in adult animals caused by a deficiency in calcium or phosphorus.

Eclampsia

Hypocalcaemia occurring in lactating dams due to high loss of calcium in milk during nursing.

Ascorbic Acid

Vitamin C, an essential nutrient for guinea pigs needed at $10$ to $30\,mg/kg$ daily for maintenance, required for biological oxidation and reduction systems.

Hypervitaminosis A

Vitamin A toxicity caused by excessive feeding of offal (especially liver) or cod liver oil, leading to irreversible new bone formation around joints, arthritis, stiffness, and cervical spinal fusion.

Tocopherol

Vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant vitamin transported bound to lipoproteins that protects cells and cell membranes from oxidative stress and free radical damage.

Brown Bowel Syndrome

A severe condition in cats caused by Vitamin E deficiency that leads to haemorrhage of the large intestine.

Free Radicals

Oxygen-reactive species produced naturally by cells during biological oxidation that cause oxidative stress when the balance with antioxidants is disrupted.

Phosphorus

A macromineral existing as phospholipids in cell membranes and vital for bone structure, energy metabolism, enzymes, and nearly all metabolic processes.

Magnesium

A macromineral required for healthy bones and teeth, skeletal and cardiac muscle function, sodium and potassium metabolism, and enzyme reactions.

Potassium

A macromineral found in high concentrations within cells that is required for nerve transmission, fluid balance, osmoregulation, acid-base balance, and muscle metabolism.

Sodium

A macromineral found primarily in soft tissues and body fluids that maintains osmotic pressure, water balance, acid-base balance, and nerve impulse transmission.

Osteochondrosis Dissecans (OCD)

A developmental joint condition in growing animals associated with an excess of dietary calcium and phosphorus.

Enostosis

A bone disorder in growing animals linked to an excess of calcium and phosphorus.

Wobblers Syndrome

Cervical spondylomyopathy in growing animals associated with calcium and phosphorus excess.

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD)

A condition in cats whose likelihood is thought to be increased by an excess of dietary magnesium.

Paresis

Partial paralysis or muscular weakness associated with an excess of potassium in the body.

Bradycardia

An abnormally slow heart rate, listed as a clinical sign associated with potassium excess.