week 8: Examination of Youngs

Veterinary Pediatrics (finished)

1. Examination of Mother 👩‍⚕

• History: Check for diseases and vaccination records.

• Clinical Examination: Conduct a thorough physical assessment.

2. Environment and Nutrition 🌡🥕

• Temperature

• Humidity: Control humidity levels.

• Air Condition: Ensure proper ventilation.

• Colostrum: Provide early colostrum for immunity.

• Ration: Ensure appropriate diet.

3. Clinical Examination of Newborns 👶

• Body Development:

  • Posture

  • Body Condition

  • Size - Weight

• Vitality (Behavior):

  • Consciousness

  • Reflexes (suckling reflexes is checked by finger)

  • Perception (how they respond to stimuli - sight, sound, touch)

Basic Signs of Normal Vitality in Calves

• Standing up and walking within the first hour.

• Suckling reflex within the first hour.

• First defecation within 6-8 hours.

Piglets should:

• weight more than 1 kg, lower weight is considered hypotrophic.

• Right after birth, piglets need to be dried, attached to teat of sow → placed in thermbox after (prevent hypothermia)

• shortening of canine teeth - in cases of possible mastitis

• apply iron preparations in range from 3-5 days after birth, castrated without anaesthesia up to 7 days after birth.

Puppies:

• Cannot regulate body temp., deaf, blind, dependent on mother - post-natal period, lasting 14 days → needed to ensure temp. of 27-29 degrees.

• Right after birth → ensure attached to teat, colostrum

• puppies eyes open between 10 - 14 days of age.

Timing of Significant Events in Pediatric Development

size abnormalities can happen - hypertrophy (spontaneous birth is not possible, animals are thus needed to be born by caesarean section. Opposite is hypotrophy, born with lower weight than normal.

Care after birth → amniotic sacs removed, airways need to be cleared to prevent hypoxia or asphyxia. Then treat navel, shorten it, disinfect.

Navel (Umbilicus) ⚓

• Umbilical cord is torn during delivery (or bitten off) in large animals.

• Bleeding stops physiologically within 3-4 minutes.

• Complications:

  • If umbilical cord is torn, cut close to abdomen → complications can occur, in case of bleeding → cord is ligated. In arterial bleeding, light red blood, spurts out rapid.

  • Another problem can be urination through urachus (umbilical)→ obstruction of urinary tract of newborn, not enough treatment of navel, swelling

Respiration 🫁

• Asphyxia: Can be caused by insufficient development of lung tissue (alveolar walls).

Heart ❤

• Murmurs: May indicate conditions such as VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect), PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus), or mitral/pulmonic stenosis.

Body Openings 🚪

• Atresia ani: Absence of the anus.

• Atresia ani et recti: Absence of the anus and rectum.

• Anus vaginalis (rectovagina): Abnormal opening between the rectum and vagina.

• Anus vesicalis: Abnormal opening between the anus and bladder.

Inherited and Congenital Disorders 🧬

A) Inherited

• Umbilical Hernia

B) Congenital

• Disorders developed during pregnancy.

• Hydrocephalus: Accumulation of fluid in the brain.

Various Origins

• Infections: Such as oculocerebral syndrome in cattle.

• Nutritional: Like goitre (iodine deficiency).

• Poisonings: Caused by mycotoxins.

• Physical: Due to irradiation or temperature extremes.

Clinical Examination of Young Animals 🩺

• Navel

• Joints & Muscle

• Liver

• Tendons

• Heart

• Eyes

• Digestive Organs

• Kidney

• Thyroid Gland and Thymus

• CNS

• Bad Habits

Umbilicus 👶

• Umbilical cord dries up until 14 days.

• Examination: Inspection & Palpation

Disorders

• Inflammation:

  • Omphalitis: Inflammation of the external navel.

  • Omphalophlebitis: Inflammation of the umbilical veins.

  • Omphaloarteritis: Inflammation of the umbilical arteries.

  • Urachitis (cystitis): Inflammation of the urachus/bladder.

  • Hernia: Protrusion of tissue through the umbilical opening.

Digestive Organs 🍎

• Rumen/Abomasum

  • At 2 weeks, the rumen/abomasum ratio is 0.5:1, while in adults, it's 9:1.

  • First ruminal contraction occurs in the 3rd week.

• Disorders

  • Ruminal Drinking: Abnormal fluid accumulation in the rumen.

  • Tympany: Bloat (abomasal/gastric, ruminal, or intestinal).

  • Diarrhea

Organ/structure to examine:	Topography:
Liver:
Ventral side of abdomen:
Thyroid gland:
Thymus:

Joints & Muscle 💪

• Polyarthritis: Often due to omphalophlebitis.

• Myopathy: Muscle disease.

Bad Habits 😥

Learned abnormal behaviors, usually seen in groups of animals.y

Practical way - order according to book/practical.

General assessment first, posture, condition, size-weight, behaviour (vitality).

1. navel (inspection and palpation)

   • check for inflammation, hernias or bleeding, dried cord by 14 days

     • if hernia - into abdomen, pus content, firm-elastic, enlargement, increased temperature

2. Respiration

   • assess breathing

   • inspection, percussion, auscultation

   • respiration and type

   • upper: inspection, palpation

   • lower: percussion, auscultation

     • percussive sound that is resonant

     • detect pain, dullness in a pathological condition

     • auscultation evaluates breathing sounds and presence of abnormal sounds like crackles, wheezing, rubbing etc.

3. Heart

   • listen for murmurs

4. Liver

   • projects below the costal arch in young animals

   • palpation: clearly feel caudal edge of liver

   • in 8 month old calves, liver does not reach behind costal arch.

5. Kidney

   • inspection: evaluate enlargement

   • palpation: surface (nodular, smooth), size, consistency, pain

6. Digestive system

   • Abomasum: primarily investivated in case of newborn calves and calves on milk diet.

     • Palpation, percussion, auscultation between xhiphoid cartilage and rumen

     • normal: cannot differentiate abomasum from intestines

     • palpation + percussion: contents, consistency, pain

     • auscultation: peristaltic sounds under physiological conditions

     • pathological:

       • dilatation, right-sided, left-sided dislocation, dilated → balloon-shaped formation filled with air is felt. A metallic percussion sound and splashing is heard in the given area.

       • reflux of contents of the abomasum into the rumen → in case of dislocation, phyto and trichobezoars.

   • Rumen: in calves - probing, palpation, auscultation

     • ratio of rumen and abomasum in calf on dairy nutrition: 0.5-1.

     • examine filling, consistency, pain

     • ruminal drinking, tympany, diarrhea

7. Thyroid gland

   • inspection, palpation

   • located on ventral side of neck

8. neurological examination

   • inspection, palpation, percussion

   • assess consciousness (response to stimuli), disorders (paresis, paralysis, convulsions), sensitivity, cutaneous and limb reflexes (patellar, triceps, perineal, panicular)

9. Locomotor system

   • inspection, palpation of muscles, bones, joints, tendons

   • inspect while animal is standing up, walking, monitor activity, notice muscle tone, myotrophy, bone formation, tendons and joints.

   • palpation for detection of pain.

     • in case of swelling - we evaluate mobility of joint, consistency, fluctuation and temperature.

10. Bad habits - Stereotypies

    • behavior patterns assessed

As respiration and heart was right after navel in practical, but respiration was after kidney in book.