Cervico-pectoral Ectopia Cordis in Two Holstein Calves

Abstract

Abstract. Two Holstein calves affected with cerv ico-pecto ral ectopia cord is, a male (No. 1)delivered stillborn and a female (No .2) died I hou r after birth, were examined macroscopically and radiographically to assess the sever ity and elucida te the teratogenesis of the anomaly. T he heart of one calf was cove red by the intact pericardi um and skin and d isplaced to the cauda lmost porti on of the ventrocervical region , j ust cranial to an enlarged thoracic inlet. T he cranial vena cava and the vena azygos were dupli cated. The sternum was bilaterally divided into two part s fused only at the xyphoid process and was semicircular. The heart of the other calf, cove red solely by the pericardiu m, was exposed ventrally from an oval openin g in the body wall j ust cranial to a defective Y-shaped stern um. In both calves, the arterial branching patt ern from the aorti c arch was interm ediate between the patt erns of the dog and pig, and in each case a single pulmonary vein emptied into the left atrium . Pronounced or slight torticollis, cleft palate, and abnormalities in the urogenital system were also found . From an embryological perspect ive, cerv ical and pectoral ectopia cordis have a common path ogenesis; the cervical type occurs at a slightly earlier fetal stage than the pectora l type.Key words: Catt le; congenital malforma tion ; ectopia cordis ; pathogenesis. ResultsCalf No. I nums were radiographed with soft x rays (Softex K-2, Softex Co., Tok yo, Japan). Materials and MethodsEcto p ia co rdis (EC), a co nd itio n d efin ed as th e a bno rm al po sition of th e heart a n yw he re o utsi de th e th oracic cavi ty , is su bdivided into th ree typ es accordi ng to th e si te o f di spl acement: ce rvical, pect oral , a nd a bd om in al. In ca tt le , the ce rvica l typ e is th e m ost pre va lent. 3.8.1 0.1I A rare in termed ia te typ e o f EC , partiall y cerv ica l a nd partiall y pect oral , has been d ocumented in on ly o ne bo vine case .v Two exa m ples o f th e intermediate typ e we re prese nte d a t o ur laborato ry recentl y. N ecropsy o f tw o neonatal ca lves re vealed EC characte rized by th e reloc ati on o f th e heart between th e ce rv ica l region and th e pect oral regio n. T o eluc idate possibl e e m bry o logica l impli cations in th e teratogen esis o fEC, the gr o ss anato my o f th ese animal s wa s co m pa red with that of th e ca lves wi t h th e ot he r typ es of EC d efect s.This ca lf was co m p lete ly d e veloped a nd weighed 50 kg (us ua l size for a m ale neonate Hol st ein) . The ski n was intact , a nd th e hair coat was normal. H ow e ver, pronounced torticolli s to th e right wa s ev iden t, and a swe lli ng wa s apparent in th e ca ud alm o st cervi cal regio n just a few ce n timete rs cra n ia l to the enlarged th oracic inl et (Fig. I) .The left a nd right ste rnocep ha lic muscles , originatin g bil aterall y from th e ste rn u m , fused wit h th e braehi oceph ali c muscles. The fused pairs o f muscles were thin a nd fatty a nd cra n ia lly di verged at th e...

Ectopia Cordis Cervicalis and Its Surgical Treatment in A Holstein Calf

“…Delayed descension of the heart in the embryonic period is thought to be the mechanism responsible for cervical ectopia cordis [4,5] . It is thought that the factor causing ectopia cordis affects the foetus before day 36 of the pregnancy [4] .…”

“…It is thought that the factor causing ectopia cordis affects the foetus before day 36 of the pregnancy [4] . While the etiology of this anomaly is not completely understood, it has been reported that this condition is encountered more often in humans and three theories have been suggested for its pathogenesis.…”

“…In veterinary sources, while branching of the heart along the arcus aorta has been recorded, branching in pigs, dogs and cattle have been reported in three models [4] . Although branching of the blood vessels in calves with ectopia cordis cervicalis is in the type of branching mostly seen in dogs or similar to hybrid branching seen in pig and dog combination, the branching type in the necropsy findings of our case shows similarity to the pig-cattle model (Fig.…”

“…5). Among characteristic findings in calves with cervical ectopia cordis are listed; a shortened and widened manubrium, xyphoid cartilage hypoplasia, double appearance sternebrae and presence of multiple sternebrae [4] .…”

“…While partial or complete ectopia cordis may occur depending on the volume of heart outside the thoracic cavity [4,5] , three further different types may be present depending on localisation: cervical (upper and lower cervical ectopia cordis), pectoral and abdominal ectopia cordis [6] . Most frequently seen is the cervical type (82%).…”