A b s t r a c t : A novel technique for chelonian venipunture is described. Angiographic studies using radio opaque iohexol, static radiography, and video fluoroscopy were undertaken in several chelonian species. Latex injected dissections were also performed to confirm the vascular anatomy. These studies indicate that a clini cally useful venipuncture site is present in the anterior dorsal midline at the junction of the common intercostal veins and the caudal cervical branch of the external jugular veins, located just craniad of the last mobile cervi cal vertebra. K e y W o r d s : Chelonia, vein, venipuncture, blood collection, anatomy, radiography, fluoroscopy.
ABSTRACT:Nineteen map turtles (Graptemys spp.) maintained under natural conditions were investigated because of chronic shell abnormalities. Animals were evaluated using a novel shell scoring system that divided the 54 scutes into six regions, with each region scored for lesion extent and severity, and summated to produce a total shell disease score (TSDS). Complete blood counts and various biochemistry analytes (total protein, albumin, globulin, urea, uric acid, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, phosphorus, and ionized and total calcium) were measured. Under ketamine-medetomidine-morphine anesthesia, cytology tape strips and full thickness shell biopsies were collected aseptically for microbiologic, histologic (including scoring of biopsy quality), and ultrastructural evaluations. The TSDSs were low and ranged from 4 to 22 (median59) out of a possible score of 54. There were no correlations between TSDS and any hematologic or biochemistry parameter. The histologic quality of shell biopsies was good, and normal shell structure, by both light and electron microscopy, is described. Small clefts and pitting lesions were noted in 8/19 sections. There was no evidence of erosion, ulceration, inflammation, or infectious agents, but algae and diatoms were observed. Six biopsies yielded aerobic isolates (Chryseobacterium indologenes, Aeromonas hydrophila, Ralstonia pickettii, and Morganella morganii), whereas 11 shell samples grew various clostridial anerobes. No fungal organisms were cultured. Although the etiology of the lesions described remains unknown, the use of a scoring system in conjunction with full thickness biopsies is suggested to help standardize investigations into chelonian shell disease in the future.
Seventeen Gulf of Mexico sturgeons (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) underwent endoscopic sex determination, gonadal biopsy, and various reproductive surgeries as part of a conservation development plan. The fish were anesthetized with tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222) buffered with sodium bicarbonate and maintained on a recirculating water anesthesia circuit. A 6-mm Ternamian EndoTip Cannula, placed through the ventral midline, midway between pectoral and pelvic fins, permitted the introduction of a 5-mm telescope. Swim bladder aspiration and CO2 insufflation of the coelomic cavity provided excellent observation. Second and third cannulae were placed under direct visual control, lateral and cranial or caudal to the telescope cannula. Sex determination was successfully performed in all fish; however, five of 17 sturgeons (29%) required endoscopic gonadal biopsy to confirm sex. Bilateral ovariectomy or orchidectomy was successfully performed in three males and four females. Unilateral ovariectomy and bilateral ligation of the müllerian ducts using an extracorporeal suturing technique was accomplished in an additional three females. No apparent morbidity was associated with the anesthesia or endoscopic surgery in any fish. The ability to safely perform minimally invasive reproductive surgery in fish may have important management and conservation benefits.
Pathogens of free-ranging chickens create a risk of disease for wild birds, some of which migrate to the United States, as well as potential economic losses for resource-poor farmers. Free-roaming backyard chickens are commonly kept in shade-grown coffee plantations, habitats that attract large numbers of wild birds. The husbandry and pathogen prevalence of backyard chicken flocks in San Luis, Costa Rica, were investigated. Based on serologic evidence, Newcastle disease virus, infectious laryngotracheitis virus, infectious bronchitis virus, chicken anemia virus, and infectious bursal disease virus, as well as both Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae, appear to be significant diseases of this population, and thus, we consider these backyard chickens potential reservoirs for these diseases. There was no evidence of avian influenza. Interviews, clinical examinations, and microscopic examination of tissues led us to believe that poxvirus is also a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in these chickens. We found that Escherichia coli isolates were resistant against tilmicosin, tetracycline, ampicillin, amoxicillin with clavulanic acid, ticarcillin, and cephalothin, and contained genes considered responsible for conferring tetracycline resistance. Additionally, although production was not measured, we suspect that husbandry and lack of preventative medicine are directly related to the diseases reported, all of which negatively affect production.
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