Oromia Bureau of Agriculture training for animal

Health experts

Training on the Basic physical and Clinical Exam:

Key to Early Identification of Sick Animals
 Contents

1. Introduction
2. Goals of a Clinical Examination
3. Early Identification of
Sick Animals
4.How to Identify Disease in animals
 Introduction

Clinical examination is a fundamental part of the process

of veterinary diagnosis.

It provides

 Information required to determine the disease or

diseases producing the clinical abnormalities.

 Information for veterinarian in determining the

severity of the disease.
Cont…..
The effective Clinical Examination is based on:

◦ Accurate history,
◦ Careful examination of animal,
◦ Laboratory examination and correlation and interpretation
of findings.

Diseases are named and classified according to the type

of alteration, system, organ or tissue involved and
etiology of the disease
Brainstorming

What is Diagnosis???
 Diagnosis
Diagnosis is an art of precisely knowing the cause of a particular
disease.
(Dia = thorough; gnosis = knowledge).
There are common terminology used in Veterinary diagnosis
Diagnosis: means determine the nature of the disease in domestic
animals.
Clinical diagnosis: refers to the discovery and description of the
nature and type of clinical problems of an individual or group of
animals.
Disease: is a deviation from the normal physiological state.
Change in structure (functions) of organs & tissues manifested
by abnormal behavior (manifestations) of the animal ==== clinical
signs.
 When there is a talented clinical examination and an accurate
diagnosis, = There is treatment, control, prognosis and welfare
of animals optimized .

 The success of clinical examination relies heavily on the

knowledge of the clinician and usually assumes a single
condition is responsible for the abnormalities
 Basic requirements to make a diagnosis
A knowledge of normal structure and function (i.e.
Anatomy and Physiology respectively)

Be able to (understand) the alterations by developing

skills in methods and techniques of examination.

 Have knowledge of signs produced by diseases as well

as knowledge of etiology and Pathogenesis.
 Goals of clinical Diagnosisi

1. To have effective treatment of

disease situations.
2. To develop (adopt) effective
control measures
To Prevent spread of diseases
To Improve animal welfare
To avoid Public health hazard
To reduce economic loss
For research (epidemiological
study) purpose
Based Examination on method of diagnosis can be classified
into three

1.Physical Examination: The diagnosis is based on examination of animal by

physical methods like
Palpation,
Percussion and
Auscultation.

2.Clinical Examination: This diagnosis is based on the inspection of animal by

looking for clinical symptoms.

3. Laboratory diagnosis: The laboratory diagnosis is based on laboratory findings

like examination of clinical samples such as serum, feces, blood, etc.
 Physical examination

Healthy Animal In order to recognize illness and disease in an

animal, it is first necessary to know the signs of a healthy one.
Signs of a Healthy Animal
1. Clear bright eyes with pink membranes around the eyes.
2. An alert attitude and interest in surroundings.
3. A good appetite.
4. A sleek, shiny coat with hair that is pliable, not dry and
brittle.
5. Feces and urine that are easily passed and normal in
appearance.
6. Temperature, pulse, and respiration in normal range.
Cont…

The main aims of physical examination is to

Apply general inspection, palpation, percussion and
auscultation methods used to detect clinical signs of
abnormalities.
General inspection-mostly done by inspection
 Attention should be paid to the following items: (Behavior,
Appetite, Defecation, Urination, Pasture, Gait, Body
condition, Body conformation), Lesions on outer surface of
the body can be observed: (Skin and coat, Nose, Mouth,
Eyes, Legs and hoofs, Anus).
ClinicalExamination

The critical part of making diagnosis is examination of

the individual animal/group of animals on the farm and
careful examination

Componenets of Clinical Examination

1.The History/ anamnesis

- present(Imidiate) disease history.

-Past (previous) illness history
-General (Enviromental & Managemental) history.

2.Examination of the environment.

3.Examination of the animal/ patient,
Check list for history taking
1. Who own the animals & where the animal is
located?
2. What type of livestock are sick animals?
3. What is the age and sex of the sick animals?
4. How many animals in the group are sick
from the disease/ When?
5. How many animals in the group have died
from this disease? When?
Cont…
6.What signs of diseases are the sick animals
showing?
7. In animals died from the disease, what
changes were seen in the dead animals?
8. Have the animals been in contact with sick
livestock or have new animals been
introduced into the herd?
9. What is the herders diagnosis?
10. Has the herder experienced this disease
previously? What action did he/she take …
Information from the history…
Species, sex, and age of animal.
When the problem began.
How the problem began; how it progressed.
Whether it is getting better or worse.
Whether there are other animals in the area with similar
symptoms.
Methods of anamnesis
o Should not be misled by the animal owners.

o By making cross questions, Veterinarian should satisfy himself

some owners / farmers do not yield exact.

o Information and hide some aspects which ultimately gives a

misleading picture of disease. Sometimes this occurs unknowingly
or unwillingly.

o Handle the owners with diplomacy and tactfulness, friendly.

o Avoid to use technical terminology. preferably in local language.

o Veterinarian must know the right questions to ask from animal owners.
 Past (previous) illness history
Past History: - it is related to the information before the period of illness or
immediate past of disease condition. This includes:-

Nature and timing of previous illness. This is to compare with the disease we are
dealing with

Clinical features of previous disease that affected individual or group of animals.

What was the diagnosis of previous illness any interference made, its fate
(mortality, morbidity etc.)

 Replacement information (to determine whether there has been any recent
introduction from out side source).
Ex. Introduction of Susceptible /diseased/ animals
 General (Enviromental & Managemental) history
As the names indicate, it includes:-
i. Nutrition /feeding system/
-Animals may graze or house fed depending on their management. Therefore
grazing or housed animals face different :
- Any dietary change (Stall to lush pasture feeding and vise versa)
- Length of storage of feeds.
ii.Number of animal Population (Population density)
In highly populated group of animals, the spread of disease with in the population
is high.
 Cont…
iii) Housing condition:consider hygiene, floor, pen partition
& Ventilation .
poor hygiene  is often associated with high level of
infectious disease.
Floor  smooth and slippery floor expose to /injury/. Ex.
Hip dislocation
 rough concrete floor, expose animals to bruising of the
sole.
 Poor drainage system of the floor allows accumulation of
litter, urine or faeces (poor drainage or wet floor) Ex.
Mastitis, foot rot and enteric infection of calves.
 (Immediate) present disease history
OBSERVATIONS OF THE VETERINARIAN
 Apart from the history revealed by the owners,
Veterinarian should make his own assessment regarding
the occurrence of disease, sequence of disease process,
clinical signs and managemental conditions.
See a typical case of the disease presently going on in
animals and ask the questions to farmer about the onset
and progress of disease.

The behavior of animals, feeding, watering, production,

growth, respiration, defecation, urination, sweating,
activity, gait, posture, voice, and odour should be noted.
General clinical examination
During the general clinical examination and inspection, the following features
must be considered from which certain conclusions can be made.
a) General demeanor (behavior)
b) Distinguishing marks
c) Physical body condition (appearance)
d) Posture
e) Gait
f) Body temperature
g) Pulse
h) Respiration
 Behaviour ( Demeanor)
Behaviour indicates the reflection of an animal to its external environment.
This is related to response of the animals to different stimuli (sound and
movement).
 Type of animal responses it could be:
I. Normal response
II. II. Decreased response
III. Increased response
I. Normal response = e.g. Elevation of the head and ears turning towards
the source of stimuli.
- Directing attention towards the source of stimuli etc
-React to events with appropriate movements of head & neck, eyes and
ears,
-Walking a way & evincing signs of attack or flight.

.
 Distinguishing marks.
In order to establish its identity, the distinguishing feature
of an animal should be carefully noted at the beginning of
clinical examination when the general inspection is made.
 The purpose of identification of a patient is:
1. To examine the disease status of the herd
2. To refer an animals previous history
3. To establish identity for future reference if repeated visit
is made.
4. If legal evidence regarding the animal is required .
Physical body condition
It comprises the general external appearance.
Physical condition is classified as:
Normal
Thin/poor/
Emaciated
Obese
 POSTURE
Postural abnormalities associated with asome disease but it may have significance
when occurs with other signs of disease
Abduction of elbow. This is seen when there is pain in the chest or difficulty in
breathing.
 Erection and rigidity of ears-Seen in case of tetanus,
Restricted limb movement, immobilization of the eye lids and elevation and/or
rigidity of tail. This is also seen in tetans.
Elevated head and tail with pricked ear. E.g. in early stages of pregnancy
toxemia and scrapie in sheep.
 Deviation of the head toward flank in recumbent animals with sternal
recumbence.
E.g. hypocalcemia in cattle and pregnancy toxemia in sheep.
Vital clinical parameters
Body temperature
Pulse rate /heart beat/
Respiration rate
Mucus membrane
These vital parameters are taken by palpation,Auscultation
and purcusion
Palpation =used to detect the presence of pain in a tissue by noting
increased sensitivity and use fingers, palm, back of the hand, and fist,
in order to get the information about the variation in size, shape,
consistency and temperature of body parts and lesions,
e.g., the superficial lymph nodes to describe its consistency
AUSCULTATION

Is the use of a stethoscope to listen to sounds produced by the

respiratory, circulatory, and digestive systems.

In large animals, auscultation is used to evaluate

gastrointestinal sounds.

Percussion= Is Method of examination in which part of body

to be examined is struck with sharp blow using fingertips to
produce audible sound.
Some of the organs that can be examined by percussion are:
gastro-intestinal tract, abdomen and thorax, frontal and nasal
sinuses.

The objectives of percussion are to obtain information about the

condition of the surrounding tissues and, more particularly, the
deeper lying parts.

Percussion can examine the area of the subcutaneous

emphysema, lungs, rumen and rump.
 Taking temperature Procedures
 Shake the mercury column of the thermometer down below the lowest point.
Lubricate the bulb end of the thermometer with soap or petroleum.
 Insert the bulb end though the anal sphincter in a rotary action.
 Cont…

In order to obtain a correct reading the thermometer should be

kept in contact to the mucous membrane for 2-5 minutes.

If there is any doubt about the validity or the reading of the TO
should be taken again.

After the To has been taken, the thermometer should be

cleaned with water and disinfectant, antiseptic .
 VARIATION IN TEMPERATURE

Normally in healthy animal, the TO is not constant;

It is slightly low in the morning and high in the evening.

Smaller species of animals have more body TO than larger.

Females, young animals and pregnant animals have slightly

raised TO of the body than males, non-pregnant and older
animals.
 Certain conditions associated with body temperature
Hyperthermia - increased body temperature. It could be:
1. Physiological:- E.g - Frequent and excessive feeding
- Strenuous, prolonged and forced exercise,
- Day of parturition except in bitch,
- Exposure to high atmospheric temperature,
- Excited or disturbed animals.
2. Pathological: - E.g.
* Febrile diseases
* Local inflammation of rectum,
* Paralysis of rectum (retained feces with
bacterial activity)
Subnormal temperature / hypothermia: The temperature of animal drops below
normal .

It occurs when animals get exposed to extreme cold for example when a calf is
exposed to heavy rain

when animal is in shock and a clinical condition like milk fever.

Here the animal body is unable to regulate body temperature or the heat
regulatory mechanism fails to generate heat to compensate the heat loss from the
body.
 Pulse /Heart rate

The wave of dilatation of elastic arteries due to force of blood from heart,
which travels along the course taken by blood in all major arterial trunk is
known as 'pulse'.

The periodic pulsation occurs in arteries which are near to surface and felt by
touch with fingers.

“Pulse” is the beat of the heart which is expressed in beats per minute.
 Normal pulse rate of animals
Animals pulse rate
Horse 28-40/minute
Cattle (adult) 55-80/minute
Cattle (yaung) 100-120/minute
Small ruminant 70 -90/minute
Dog ( large breed) 65-90/minute
Dog ( small breed) 90-120/minute
Cat 110-130/minute
“In normal physiology heart rate = pulse rate
Factors affecting pulse rate
pulse rate varies among animals owing to many factors affecting the
rate.
Size of animal: Pulse rate is lower in heavy animals than lighter
ones in same species.
 Age: higher in younger animals .In neonatal calves the pulse rate
is 100-120/minutes while it is 50-8O/minutes in older animals.
 Condition of animal: The pulse rate is lower in animals which
are continuously put on hard work load or exercise, e.g. race horses,
draught ox.
 Sex : female animal has slightly higher pulse rate than male
animals.
Cont…

Pregnancy: Due to mild degree of hypertension in late stage

of pregnancy, the pulse rate is slightly higher than non­
pregnant animals.
 Parturition: At the time of parturition the pulse rate is
increased.
 Lactation: The dry animals have their normal pulse rate
(Table 5.1), while the milking animals have slightly increased
pulse rate. Usually, it is 10% higher than normal.
Excitement : may cause an increase of pulse rate up to 10%.
Oestrus: During the oestrus, pulse rate is slightly higher than
normal.
 Fever: In fever, the pulse rate is increased in animals.
Cardiovascular disease: In heart diseases, the pulse rate is
increased.
Pain: is responsible for increased pulse
 Examination of respiratory system

Types of respiration

Costal respiration: In this type of respiration thoracic muscles are

mainly involved and the movement of the rib cage is more
prominent. It is seen in dogs and cats

Abdominal respiration: This type of respiration is seen in

ruminants viz cattle, goat, sheep and yak..

Costo- abdominal respiration: In this type of respiration muscles of

both thorax and abdomen are involved so the movement of the ribs
and the abdominal wall are noticed
 Examination of respiratory system
Respiratory activity can be assessed by:­
Movement of nostrils,
Movement of thorax (ribs/intercostal muscles),
Movement of abdomen (diaphragm

During examining the respiratory activity, the following should be noted in

evaluating respiration
Respiratory rate (frequency):- this may be increased or decreased.
oIncrease in the rate may occur when the demand for oxygen by tissue is
increased.
Example: ~ Excitement or strenuous exercise.
~ Exposure to environmental To or humidity
~ Obesity
~ Various pulmonary and severe cardiac
diseases.
Cont…
Terms related with respiratory rate:-
1. Hyperpnea: - increased respiratory rate with/without increased in depth
(amplitude) of respiratory movement.
2. Polypnea: - increase in respiratory rate with reduced depth of respiratory
movement.
3. Olygopnea: - a decrease in the respiratory frequency (rate).
3. Dyspnea: - this is difficulty or laboured breathing with apparent distress to an
animal.
 It may be associated with change in the rate, depth (amplitude), rhythm
(regularity), or type respiration (breathing).
 Visible mucus membrane
This are inspected for abnormalities in colour and
appearance.
Normal m/m is moist, shiny,smooth and pale-pink.
Visible m/m includes conjuctival,buccal, urethral, nasal,
vaginal, prepusal, rectal etc.
Abnormalites:
1. Yellowish = indicates juandice.
2. Extreme paleness = anemia.
3. Bluish = oxygen deficiency ( cyanosis/ hypoxia).
4. Redness = inflammation.
During visual examination, attention should be given for:
Paleness - Hyperemia
Jaundice Eruptions -
Hemorrhages
Discharges
Cont…
•Hyperemia
•Jaundice
•Ulceration
•Swellings
•etc
 Anaemic mucous membranes.
Blood loss anaemia.
Parasitic infestations leading to haemolysis.
Tumours or leucosis.
Iron deficiency anemia.
Long-standing infectious diseases.
Congested mucous membranes.
High environmental temperatures and exercise.
Any disease resulting in fever.
Diseases of the heart, brain and its membranes.
Yellowish or icteric mucous membranes.
Icterus of jaundice occurs due to increase of blood bilirubin
concentration (blood parasites, leptospirosis, hepatitis).

Cyanosed mucous membranes.

 Bluish discoloration of visible mucous membranes resulting

from presence of reduced haemoglobin in blood capillaries.

 Myocarditis, pericarditis.

 Plant and mineral intoxications.

AREAS TO EXAMINE

1.General appearance—is there a healthy overall appearance?

Are eyes bright and coat shiny? Is animal obese or very thin?

2.Integumentary (skin)—is the coat shiny and full or is it dull

and brittle? Are there any bald patches, rashes, or flaking skin?

3.Musculoskeletal (muscles and skeletal structure)—is there a

history of lameness or any visible lameness? Broken bones?

4.Circulatory—coughing, fainting, dyspnea, and murmurs are all

signs of circulatory problems.
 Contd…
5. Respiratory—coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge,
exercise intolerance, and cyanosis are signs of possible
respiratory problems.
6.Digestive—is the animal eating normally? Have there
been diet changes? Was a toxin (rat poison, antifreeze)
ingested? Vomiting and diarrhea are signs of digestive
upset.
7.Genitourinary (genitals and urinary system)—abnormal
discharge, smell, or color as well as swelling & inability or
difficulty in urinating & defecating are signs of a problem.
8.Nervous system—seizures, changes in behavior, difficulty
walking, head tilt.
 Contd…
9.Lymph nodes—enlarged?
10.Ears—discharge, unusual odor, or head shaking? 11.Eyes
—is there excessive tearing or discharge? Are there any visual
deficits?
12.Mouth—are gums and teeth healthy? Are mucous
membranes moist and pink? Very red, cyanotic, or pale
membranes are abnormal.
A Capillary Refill Time (CRT) is done to check for circulatory
problems.
CRT Procedure Find a light pigmented area-dark areas are
difficult to assess. Press down on the area till the color
blanches, then release. Color should return in 1 to 2 seconds.
A prolonged CRT is a sign of shock or other circulatory
problems.
Table 1: The structures that can be palpated and what they are
palpated for are:
N Organs Palpated for
o
1 Superficial arteries Pulse

2 uterus Pregnancy

3 muscles Pain/swelling

4 bone Fracture/growth

5 Stomach, intestine Pain

6 esophagus Obstruction

7 rumen Bloat, impaction

THANK YOU!