Infrared thermography (IRT) is a non-ionizing, non-invasive technique that permits evaluating the comfort levels of animals, a topic of concern due to the growing interest in determining the state of health and welfare of production animals. The operating principle of IRT is detecting the heat irradiated in anatomical regions characterized by a high density of near-surface blood vessels that can regulate temperature gain or loss from/to the environment by modifying blood flow. This is essential for understanding the various vascular thermoregulation mechanisms of different species, such as rodents and ruminants’ tails. The usefulness of ocular, nasal, and vulvar thermal windows in the orbital (regio orbitalis), nasal (regio nasalis), and urogenital (regio urogenitalis) regions, respectively, has been demonstrated in cattle. However, recent evidence for the river buffalo has detected discrepancies in the data gathered from distinct thermal regions in these large ruminants, suggesting a limited sensitivity and specificity when used with this species due to various factors: the presence of hair, ambient temperature, and anatomical features, such as skin thickness and variations in blood supplies to different regions. In this review, a literature search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and PubMed, using keyword combinations that included “infrared thermography”, “water buffalo”, “river buffalo” “thermoregulation”, “microvascular changes”, “lacrimal caruncle”, “udder”, “mastitis”, and “nostril”. We discuss recent findings on four thermal windows—the orbital and nasal regions, mammary gland in the udder region (regio uberis), and vulvar in the urogenital region (regio urogenitalis)—to elucidate the factors that modulate and intervene in validating thermal windows and interpreting the information they provide, as it relates to the clinical usefulness of IRT for cattle (Bos) and the river buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

Background:The aim of this review was to identify the mechanisms by which serotonin receptors involved at the central level are able to modulate the nociceptive response. Pain is a defense mechanism of the body that entails physio-logical, anatomical, neurochemical, and psychological changes, and is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional expe-rience with potential risk of tissue damage, comprising the leading cause of appointments with Physicians worldwide. Treatment for this symptom has generated several neuropharmacological lines of research, due to the different types of pain and the various drugs employed to treat this condition. Serotonin [5-HydroxyTryptamine (5-HT)] is a neurotransmitter with seven families (5-HT1–5-HT7) and approximately 15 receptor subtypes. Serotonin modulates neuronal activity; however, this neurotransmitter is related with a number of physiological processes, such as cardiovascular function, gastric motility, renal function, etc. On the other hand, several researches reported that serotonin modulates nociceptive response through 5-HT1, 5-HT2, 5-HT3, and 5-HT7 receptors in the Central Nervous System (CNS).Method:In this review, a search was conducted on PubMed, ProQuest, EBSCO, and the Science Citation Index for studies evaluating the effects of 5-HT1, 5-HT2, 5-HT3, and 5-HT7 receptors in the CNS on the modulation of different types of pain.ConclusionWe concluded that 5-HT1, 5-HT2, 5-HT3, and 5-HT7 receptors in the CNS modulate the pain, but this depends on the distribution of the receptors, dose of agonists or antagonists, administration route, pain type and duration in order to inhibit, excite, or even maintain the nociceptive response.

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Mortality in piglets during the perinatal period, especially the first days after birth, is frequently caused by noninfectious conditions, such as hypoglucemia or low birth weight, which can be associated with hypothermia experienced at birth. The thermal stability of newborn piglets is a fundamental aspect of neonatal care, so maintaining a constant, ideal temperature will substantially reduce newborn mortality. Species-specific characteristics, such as a limited capacity for thermoregulation, low energy reserves, a lack of brown adipose tissue (BAT) (-, and environmental conditions that are adverse for the piglet around the time of birth, including the absence of a microclimate, all of them contribute to difficulties in reaching thermal homeostasis in the first hours post-birth. Shivering thermogenesis and behavioral modifications to regulate body temperature through innate mechanisms allow animals to reduce their energy expenditures. Some body postures are effective in reducing contact with the floor and also nestling are useful to avoid heat loss, and also decreases heat dissipation. Achieving optimal development of thermoregulation is a challenge that newborns must confront to successfully adapt to extrauterine life. The objectives of this review, are to discuss the adverse factors that can lead to a death event due to hypothermia by analyzing the thermoregulation mechanisms at the central and cutaneous levels, also to analyze the harmful impacts that surviving neonate piglets confront in an unfavorable thermal environment, and to describe the pathophysiological mechanisms of death caused by hypothermia.

In light of the need to perform surgical techniques and the importance of animal welfare because of acute pain, the objectives of the veterinary anaesthetists are to manage muscle relaxation and adequate analgesia in order to conserve a balance in the autonomic nervous system, enhance the action of the parasympathetic system in the face of the emerging action of the sympathetic portion provoked by the surgeon, and maintain a balance among them. The aim of the present review is to describe different evaluation criteria for acute pain using unidimensional and multidimensional scales, correlating these findings to parasympathetic tone activity (PTA) and bispectral index (BIS) assessment, to conduct an objective evaluation of pain that patients (dog or cat) perceives, in order to administrate an adequate analgesic treatment in each case. In conclusion, this integral, objective evaluation will allow veterinariansespecially anaesthesiologiststo improve the management of pain in the patients.

The science of animal welfare has evolved over the years, and recent scientific advances have enhanced our comprehension of the neurological, physiological, and ethological mechanisms of diverse animal species. Currently, the study of the affective states (emo-Animal welfare 2 tions) of nonhuman animals is attracting great scientific interest focused primarily on negative experiences such as pain, fear, and suffering, which animals experience in different stages of their lives or during scientific research. Studies underway today seek to establish methods of evaluation that can accurately measure pain and then develop effective treatments for it, because the techniques available up to now are not sufficiently precise. One innovative technology that has recently been incorporated into veterinary medicine for the specific purpose of studying pain in animals is called infrared thermography (IRT), a technique that works by detecting and measuring levels of thermal radiation at different points on the body's surface with high sensitivity. Changes in IRT images are associated mainly with blood perfusion, which is modulated by the mechanisms of vasodilatation and vasoconstriction. IRT is an efficient, noninvasive method for evaluating and controlling pain, two critical aspects of animal welfare in biomedical research. The aim of the present review is to compile and analyze studies of infrared thermographic changes associated with pain in laboratory research involving animals.

Piglets appear to be neurologically sensitive to intrapartum asphyxia. Our aim was to investigate the short-term neurophysiologic consequences of intrapartum asphyxia in piglets. We studied 10 piglets suffering intrapartum asphyxia and 10 control piglets. Glucose and blood gas levels, tympanic membrane temperature, and body weight were measured within the first 2 min after birth. Animals were followed up for a 5-day period. As surrogated markers of piglets' neurological function, a viability score and the time elapsed from birth to the first contact with the maternal udder were recorded. In the control group, temperature and blood pH levels at birth were significantly higher (p < or = .001), whereas calcium, lactate and PCO2 levels were statistically lower (p < or = .05) than in the piglets experiencing intrapartum asphyxia. Lower temperature and blood pH levels as well as higher blood PCO2 and lactate levels were observed in piglets with lower viability scores and in piglets with prolonged times until first udder contact. At the end of the study, asphyxiated piglets weighed on average 200 g less (p = .023) than control piglets. In conclusion, intrapartum asphyxia in spontaneously born piglets was associated with signs of acute neurological dysfunction and lower weight gain, supporting the hypothesis that they may be used as a naturalistic model for the study of asphyxia in newborns.

Thermoregulation in newborn mammals is an essential species-specific mechanism of the nervous system that contributes to their survival during the first hours and days of their life. When exposed to cold weather, which is a risk factor associated with mortality in neonates, pathways such as the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) are activated to achieve temperature control, increasing the circulating levels of catecholamine and cortisol. Consequently, alterations in blood circulation and mechanisms to produce or to retain heat (e.g., vasoconstriction, piloerection, shivering, brown adipocyte tissue activation, and huddling) begin to prevent hypothermia. This study aimed to discuss the mechanisms of thermoregulation in newborn domestic mammals, highlighting the differences between altricial and precocial species. The processes that employ brown adipocyte tissue, shivering, thermoregulatory behaviors, and dermal vasomotor control will be analyzed to understand the physiology and the importance of implementing techniques to promote thermoregulation and survival in the critical post-birth period of mammals. Also, infrared thermography as a helpful method to perform thermal measurements without animal interactions does not affect these parameters.