1887

Post-mortem examination

image of Post-mortem examination
GBP
Online Access: £ 25.00 + VAT
BSAVA Library Pass Buy a pass

Abstract

In avian medicine, the post-mortem examination is a valuable part of the diagnostic work-up. The findings in one animal may help others in a collection. This chapter describes the steps in a postmortem examination and provides a broad overview of possible interpretations of some common lesions.

Preview this chapter:
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/content/chapter/10.22233/9781910443194.chap25

Figures

Image of 25.2
25.2 Chicken with sticktight fleas (). (Courtesy of Geoffrey Olsen)
Image of 25.3
25.3 Poultry lice may be identified during post-mortem examination.
Image of 25.4
25.4 Wetting of the plumage allows close examination of the skin.
Image of 25.5
25.5 Examination of the head of the femur.
Image of 25.6
25.6 The skin has been peeled away from the area of examination in this common guillemot.
Image of 25.7
25.7 The initial incisions should be made from the crop to the vent.
Image of 25.8
25.8 Cutting through the coracoid bones to lift and remove the sternum.
Image of 25.9
25.9 Examination of the abdominal air sacs. Normal air sacs should be translucent.
Image of 25.10
25.10 Location of the thyroid gland (arrowed) in a pheasant.
Image of 25.11
25.11 Location of lobes of the thymus (arrowed).
Image of 25.12
25.12 The round dark brown spleen (arrowed) is visible as the proventriculus and ventriculus are rolled laterally in this chicken. (Courtesy of Leila Marcucci)
Image of 25.13
25.13 The ventriculus has been incised to allow examination of the koilin.
Image of 25.14
25.14 The caeca from a chicken. This is a fixed specimen.
Image of 25.15
25.15 Location of Meckel’s diverticulum (arrowed).
Image of 25.16
25.16 An active oviduct (arrowed) and ovaries (*) are present in the coelom of this chicken.
Image of 25.17
25.17 The kidney of a hen: the three divisions are arrowed. (Courtesy of Leila Marcucci)
Image of 25.18
25.18 With the kidney removed, the sciatic plexus can be examined.
Image of 25.19
25.19 The normal lungs are pink in this bufflehead.
Image of 25.20
25.20 The cervical oesophagus is open.
Image of 25.21
25.21 Normal syringeal bulla in a mallard duck.
Image of 25.22
25.22 Urate crystals from a bird with articular gout are readily identifiable by exfoliative cytology.
Image of 25.23
25.23 The enhanced lobular or reticular pattern can be appreciated in this liver from a goose.
Image of 25.25
25.25 Variable epithelial hyperplasia and hyperkeratosis due to scaly leg mites () in a chicken.
Image of 25.26
25.26 Subcutaneous mites () may be found at post-mortem examination.
Image of 25.27
25.27 Severe dermatitis and cellulitis following a dog attack in a duck.
Image of 25.28
25.28 Severe pododermatitis in a mute swan.
Image of 25.29
25.29 Multifocal nodular swellings of the skin due to Marek’s disease. Many lesions involve the feather follicles (the feathers have been removed in this case).
Image of 25.30
25.30 Proliferative and necrotizing lesions on the skin associated with fowlpox infection. (Courtesy of Greg Rich)
Image of 25.31
25.31 Thickened skin in a chicken with xanthomatosis.
Image of 25.32
25.32 Synovitis of the intertarsal joint (hock) due to .
Image of 25.33
25.33 Beading of the ribs associated with rickets.
Image of 25.34
25.34 Osteopetrosis (note: the normal bone is on the right).
Image of 25.35
25.35 Sarcosporidial schizonts causing numerous foci and streaks in the skeletal muscle of a duck.
Image of 25.36
25.36 Dissecting aneurysm with periarterial haemorrhage. Inset: close-up view of the dissection.
Image of 25.37
25.37 Extensive swelling of the periocular sinus and closing of the eye. (Courtesy of Geoffrey Olsen)
Image of 25.38
25.38 Haemorrhage and tracheal exudate in a chicken with infectious laryngotracheitis.
Image of 25.39
25.39 Fowlpox lesions in the oral cavity (arrowed).
Image of 25.40
25.40 Candidiasis (thrush) in the crop of a chicken. Note the proliferative mucosa.
Image of 25.41
25.41 Proventricular haemorrhage (arrowed) which can be seen in birds with Newcastle disease or chicken infectious anaemia.
Image of 25.42
25.42 A wet mount cytology preparation of from the intestine of a quail.
Image of 25.43
25.43 Ascarids in the small intestine.
Image of 25.44
25.44 Severe haemorrhage due to duck virus enteritis infection.
Image of 25.45
25.45 Multifocal necrotizing ulcerative enteritis due to in a Bobwhite quail.
Image of 25.46
25.46 Marked typhlitis in a turkey with infection.
Image of 25.47
25.47 Slightly enlarged liver with multiple yellow-white foci indicative of septicaemia due to (fowl cholera).
Image of 25.48
25.48 Necrotic foci in the liver and caeca of a turkey associated with histomoniasis.
Image of 25.49
25.49 Enlarged liver with a mottled appearance in a chicken with lymphoid leucosis.
Image of 25.50
25.50 Enlarged liver with a mottled appearance in a duck with duck viral hepatitis.
Image of 25.51
25.51 Enlarged yellow liver, typical for hepatic lipidosis, in a Palawan pheasant.
Image of 25.52
25.52 Enlarged spleen with foci of necrosis and inflammation scattered throughout the parenchyma. This appearance is typically seen with bacterial septicaemia.
Image of 25.53
25.53 Loss of pigmentation and irregularity of the iris is due to Marek’s disease.
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error