The influence of increasing the dosage of ketamine on anaesthesia induced by a combination of ketamine, xylazine and midazolam in pigs was determined by assessing the onset of action (OAN), duration of analgesia (DAN), anaesthesia time (ANT), and recovery time (RCT) in 10 growing pigs (Mean weight: 18.2 ± 1.65 kg) receiving either 10 mg / kg intramuscular (i.m) injection of 10 % ketamine, 2 mg / kg i.m injection of 2 % xylazine and 0.25 mg / kg i.m injection of 0.1%midazolam (K10XM) or 20 mg / kg i.m injection of ketamine and 2 mg / kg i.m injection of xylazine and 0.25 mg / kg i.m injection of 0.1 % midazolam (K20XM). In addition, the heart rates (HR), respiratory rates (RR) and rectal temperatures (RT) were determined immediately after drug administration and at 10 minute intervals over a period of 60 minutes. Analgesia was assessed by the response of the pigs to artery forceps applied at the interdigital space. Recovery was determined as pigs' ability to stand without ataxia. Data were expressed as mean ± SEM while anaesthetic indices were compared using Student's t-tests. AP value of 0.05 was accepted as significant in all cases. In this study, both the OAN and RCT were significantly (P < 0.05) shorter in K10XM (1.4 ± 0.2 min; 7.8 ± 2.2 min) than in K20XM (2.2 ± 0.2; 18.6 ± 1.4 min) respectively. Similarly, the duration of anaesthesia was significantly (P < 0.05) shorter in K10XM (55.4 ± 8.4 min) than in K20XM (92.0 ± 13.6 min). The pigs that received K20XM combination had analgesia of duration of 41.4±12.6 min while those that received K10XM combination had no analgesia. However, the HR, RR, and RT were not significantly (P > 0.05) different between K10XM and K20XM. It was therefore concluded that the lower dose ketamine combination is better for the induction of anaesthesia, while the higher dose ketamine combination is preferable for surgery of short duration in pigs

The effect of breed on serum biochemistry and hematological parameters of clinically healthy dogs was studied by collecting blood from the cephalic vein of ten (10) Alsatian and ten (10)

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This study was designed to assess the gross morphometric studies of the tongue, hard palate and buccal cavity of the fruit bat (Eidolon helvum). Sixty bats of both sexes were used for this study. The tongue was excised, and the weight and various linear measurements were determined. Linear measurements were also determined on the hard palate. The gross distribution of the lingual papillae was observed to be the same in both sexes; values obtained for the weight and length of the tongue were higher in the females, although no statistically significant differences were observed (P > 0.05). The number of ridges on the hard palate displayed sexual dimorphism. Results obtained from this study may find application in the field of comparative and clinical anatomy of wildlife and also in feeding physiology.

This study compares the coxofemoral parameters used for the detection of hip dysplasia in humans with Norberg angles in Boerboel dogs. Twenty adult Boerboel dogs of both sexes (mean weight: 54.0 ± 7.54 kg) were used. They were premedicated with Xylazine (0.5 mg.kg−1) and induced with a propofol (4 mg.kg−1) injection. Extended antero-posterior radiographs of the hip were obtained with a digital X-ray machine. Linear Femoral Overlap (LFO), Norberg Angle (NA), Sourcil Sector Angle (SSA), Center Edge Angle (CEA) and Acetabular Index Angle (AIA) were determined. The inter- and intra-observer variability were calculated from inter- and intra- class correlation coefficient using the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Fischer’s exact test was used to define the statistically significant difference in measurements between sexes and hip dysplasia status. A significant difference was set at P < 0.05. The intra-observer agreement was high for NA and CEA, moderate for AIA, but low for SSA and LFO, while inter-observer agreement was high for NA and CEA, moderate for LFO and AIA, but very low for SSA. There was no significant (P < 0.05) difference in the measured parameters between male and female Boerboels, however, NA and CEA were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in Boerboels with hip dysplasia than those with normal hips. The CEA does not have advantage over NA for radiographic screening of dogs with hip dysplasia.

To determine the effect of midazolam on ketamine-xylazine anesthesia, 20 guinea fowl (Numida meleagris galeata) were randomly divided into 2 groups. Birds in group KX were anesthetized with ketamine (15 mg/kg i.m.) and xylazine (2.5 mg/kg i.m.), whereas the birds anesthetized in group KXM received midazolam (0.3 mg/kg i.m.) in addition to the ketamine and xylazine protocol. The onset of anesthesia, duration of analgesia, duration of recumbency, and recovery time were determined. Heart and respiratory rates as well as cloacal temperatures were recorded immediately after drug administration and at 10-minute intervals until the birds were sternally recumbent. Analgesia was assessed as a response to artery forceps applied to the digit and skin proximal to the tarsal joint. The mean (SD) duration of analgesia in the group KXM birds was 37.4 +/- 23.5 minutes, whereas no analgesia was apparent with the group KX birds. The duration of recumbency was significantly longer and respiratory rates were significantly lower in group KXM birds compared with those in group KX. Adverse effects were minimal and included diarrhea (n = 1) and hypersalivation (n = 2) in group KX birds, and regurgitation (n = 2) in group KXM birds. Midazolam administered intramuscularly appeared to improve the anesthetic quality of ketamine and xylazine in guinea fowls without adversely affecting safety.

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