Bovine Clinical Exam

• General steps for examining a sick bovine?

  History taking

  Distance exam

  Physical exam

  Problem list

  Differential diagnostics

  Specific clinical exam

  Prognosis + treatment plan

  Control
• What are the 3 components that should cover in your history taking?

  Animal

  Husbandry

  Environment
• What can you observe from a patient in its environment?

  Demeanour

  Gait

  Shape

  Posture

  Discharge

  Breathing
• How should you approach a physical examination of cattle?

  Region by region

  • tail end
  • left side
  • right side
  • head and neck
  • tail end revisit
• Where can you take a pulse rate in cattle?

  The pulse of cattle is taken at a point on the underside of the base of the tail
• What can you check on a PE at the tail end ?

  Urine - perineal stimulation

  Rectal temp: 38.0 - 39.3

  Pulse rate

  Mucous membrane

  Vulval lips

  BCS, contour, skin

  Other - udder and teats
• DRAW all 9 abnormal abdominal shapes of cattle ?

  just check!
• On the left side of the thorax of the cattle, what do you check for?

  Heart

  • jugular pulse at the 4th to 5th intercostal space
  • 60-80 bpm

  Lungs

  • point of shoulder to 11th to 12th rib space
  • hard to hear in normal animal
  • 15-30 bpm
• Left abdomen of the cattle, what do you check for?

  Rumen
• Left abdo, check for?

  Rumen

  • Contractions – primary and secondary

  • 1-2 per minute

  Auscultation and percussion

  • Ping – gas cap, left displaced abomasum

  • Ballot – splash

  Ballot

  • Pregnancy

  • Foreign body

  • Splashing fluids

  • Percussion abdomen
• What is the withers test?

  a normal animal should ventro-flex to avoid the stimulus of the pinch. A failure to ventroflex, or grunt indicates cranial abdominal pain or thoracic pain is likely.
• Head and neck, what should you check?

  Eyes and eyelids

  • discharge
  • sunkeness
  • menace
  • third eyelid

  Mouth and tongue

  • colour - jaundice
  • ulceration - rule out exotic diseases
  • lumps in tongue
• What are the superficial lymphnodes in the cattle?

  parotid, submandibular, retropharyngeal, prescapular, prefemoral (precrural) and superficial inguinal (supramammary in females, scrotal in males)
• What do you do at your tailend revisit?

  Rectal exam

  • faeces
  • any foreign body
  • left kidney
  • bladder
  • reproductive tract
  • careful palpation post calving
  • udder and teat