The effect of intensive fattening of bulls with a high-concentrate diet on ruminal mucosa – a morphometric study

Abstract

The aim of the study was to identify the effect of fattening of experimental Simmental bulls (a total of 10 animals) with a high-concentrate diet on ruminal mucosa and dimensions of ruminal papillae, and to assess the intensity of keratinization of papillary epithelium. The experimental period lasted from weaning to slaughter (359 days). Histopathological and morphometric examinations of ruminal mucosa indicated that the ruminal papillae of bulls from the experimental group were better developed (long with a lower degree of keratinization) compared to the control group. Significant differences between the experimental and control groups were found in the length of ruminal papillae (p = 0.005), width of stratum corneum (p = 0.034) and degree of mucosal keratinization on the surface of ruminal papillae (p = 0.014). Conclusive results of morphometric analysis prove the facility of the use of morphometrics as a method useful for veterinary pathology, mainly for the accuracy of the histological diagnosis. Cattle, rumen, grain, morphometry, ruminal epitheliumThe rumen in young suckling ruminants is small, about half the size of the abomasum. It undergoes significant morphological and physiological changes during the growth of the animal. In cattle, the ratio between the rumen and abomasum of 4 week-old-calves is 1:2, at 8 weeks of age 1:1, at 3 months 2:1 and in the adult cattle 9:1 (Rosenberger 1964).The ruminal mucosa consists of a multilayer squamous epithelium with significant keratinisation. The lining has papillae of tongue-like shape on the surface with the length of 1-13 mm and width of 0.5-3 mm, and these significantly increase the surface of the ruminal epithelium (Hofmann and Schnorr 1982;Langer 1988;Frappier 2006). The longest papillae are located in the blunt sacs, at the bottom of the ventral sac and the bottom of the ruminal antrum. The length decreases towards the columns and on the edge there are only low papillae or they disappear completely (Jelínek 1995;König et al. 2004).The morphological properties of the gut lining including the size of papillae and their quantity are variable. The pathogenesis of morphological adaptation of the ruminal mucosa depends on several factors, such as age of the animal, composition and quality of feed, fibre content, and type, concentration and ratio of volatile fatty acids (VFA), ruminal content pH, intensity of fermentation processes in the rumen, etc. (Zitnan et al. 2003;Radostits et al. 2007). The ruminal papillae are rudimentary in newborn and young animals, therefore the mucosa is relatively smooth and pale (Jelínek 1995;Amaral et al. 2005). Under physiological conditions, mature papillae are covered with a thin layer of keratinising squamous cells (Frappier 2006). Morphology of the ruminal mucosa relates to concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFA), mainly those of butyric and propionic acids. It is characterised by a process of continual changes, from regression to proliferation. The

Signals for identifying cows at risk of subacute ruminal acidosis in dairy veterinary practice

“…In general, it is well known that the inclusion of high-concentrate diets causes an enlargement of ruminal papillae length and width (Černík et al, 2011;Zitnan et al, 2003). Recently, it has been suggested that the ruminal mucosa thickness might serve as diagnostic tool for SARA, because the enlargement of the ruminal mucosa can be visualised via transabdominal ultrasound, an equipment which is part of the practical diagnostic tools of veterinarians (Mirmazhari-Anwar, Sharifi, Mirshahi, Mohri, & Grünberg, 2013;Neubauer, Humer, Kröger, Meissl et al, 2017).…”

Technical note: Changes in rumen mucosa thickness measured by transabdominal ultrasound as a noninvasive method to diagnose subacute rumen acidosis in dairy cows

“…However, costs for such pH boli are still high for constant herd surveillance, and therefore research for alternative methods is needed. Previous studies have shown that high-concentrate diets can lead to increased rumen papillae length and width (Zitnan et al, 2003;Černík et al, 2011). Mirmazhari-Anwar et al (2013) reported increasing rumen mucosa thickness (RMT) when using a transabdominal rumen ultrasound (TARU) in cannulated bulls fed diets increasing in concentrate level (5-96% DM).…”

Effects of peroral supplementation of different forms of zinc on the ruminal mucosa of goat kids – a morphometric study

“…The histological mounts of the rumen tissue were furthermore morphometrically examined by image analysis using Soft Imaging System Cell F (Imaging Software for Life Science Microscopy, OLYMPUS Soft Imaging Solutions). Five variables were measured in three papillae in each section (15 measures per section): the length of the papilla, the width of the papilla, the width of the epithelium, the width of stratum corneum and also keratinisation on the surface of the papillae (Knott et al 2004;Černík et al 2011).…”

“…It is characterised by a process of continual changes, from regression to proliferation. The pathogenesis of morphological adaptation of the ruminal mucosa depends on several factors (Zitnan et al 2003;Amaral et al 2005;Černík et al 2011), including the effect of microelements. This includes cobalt, selenium, copper and also zinc (Arelovich et al 2008;Eryavuz et al 2009;Falhar et al 2009).…”