No abstract

Little is known about the presence of mycoplasmas in the genital tracts of domestic and stray bitches or in the vaginas of ovariohysterectomized (OHE) bitches. Moreover, to our knowledge, there has been no research to investigate the presence of canine vaginal mycoplasmas during the different stages of the reproductive cycle. We investigated the occurrence of mycoplasmas in the vaginas of healthy domestic and stray intact bitches, to correlate their presence with specific stages of the reproductive cycle, and to compare them with those in OHE bitches. We also investigated the presence of uterine mycoplasmas. Mycoplasmas were isolated from 41 of 122 vaginal swabs (34%) from domestic (27%) and stray (39%) bitches. Mycoplasma canis was the most commonly identified species ( n = 26; 63%), and was detected in both intact (60%) and OHE (73%) bitches. Mycoplasma isolates from the vaginas of healthy bitches did not vary during the various stages of the estrous cycle. Mycoplasmas were not detected in uterine samples.

There are only a few reported cases of abdominal ectopic pregnancy and consequential foetal mummification in dogs. The majority of the described cases indicate that this condition may exist for a prolonged period of time without any manifestation of illness. Therefore, sudden signs of abdominal distension, abdominal pain, episodes of epileptiform seizures, dark diarrhoea and lethargy, as were observed in the present case, are not likely to be considered as symptoms of an abdominal ectopic pregnancy. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an eight-year long abdominal pregnancy in an ovariohysterectomised bitch. We present the clinical, laboratory, radiological and intraoperative findings, and the medical and surgical therapy for an abdominal ectopic pregnancy in a 14 year old Miniature Pinscher bitch, ovariohysterectomised eight years previously.

Tetanus is caused by the bacterium, Clostridium tetani, and can infect both domestic animals and man. The disease is rarely diagnosed in cats, as a consequence of their increased resistance to the neurotoxin, tetanospasmin. Mortality in animals is generally high (80%). To date these authors have not been able to locate any reports of mortality rates specific to cats. Clinical diagnosis is based on clinical signs and a history of an untreated penetrating wound. This case report describes the development of moderate generalized tetanus in an approximately six month old female stray cat, found with an untreated wound on the side of its neck. This report describes clinical signs, treatment and recovery of the animal.

T he Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) is a medium-sized, colourful parrot native to eastern and south-eastern Australia (Penck et al., 1995). Today there is a rising trend of keeping these parrots in captivity as pets. As a consequence of that there have been reports from different veterinary clinics regarding the treatment of respiratory system diseases in these birds (Palmieri et al., 2011; Talbot et al., 2018). However, the literature data about the anatomy of the respiratory system in these parrots still lacking. Different research confirms that the avian respiratory system is structurally and functionally one of the most complex among the vertebrates (Maina, 2008; 2015). In birds, this system consists of a gas exchange part that represents the lungs and parabronchi and a ventilation part that represent the air sacs. The morphology of the air sacs system has been described in many domestic and wild bird