Veterinary Research Forum

Abstract Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a common congenital anomaly in large animals, but it is rarely documented in small ruminants. This report described a case involving a three-month-old male lamb of the Iranian Shall breed that was presented to a Veterinary Hospital of University of Tehran with nasal discharge and growth retardation. Clinical examination revealed a heart rate of 120 beats per min, a respiratory rate of 50 breaths per min, pale mucous membranes and a low-grade pansystolic murmur that was auscultated bilaterally in the thoracic region. Echocardio-graphy revealed a 10.00 mm defect between the right and left ventricles, located in the supraventricular region behind the aortic valve, along with evidence of left-to-right shunting. Imaging studies including echocardiography and radiography indicated increased cardiac volume particularly in the right ventricle. These findings were corroborated by necropsy. This case study aimed to elucidate the imaging findings associated with Ventricular septal defect in an Iranian Shall lamb.

Abstract The goal of this research was to determine the normal range of arterial blood gas, electrolytes and acid-base status in the healthy male sheep of Iranian Shall breed. For this purpose, the blood sample was collected from the ear artery of 15 Iranian Shall sheep whose health was confirmed by clinical examinations, hematological tests including complete blood count and air-dried blood smear and cardiac evaluations including electrocardiography and echocardiography. Then, the values of pH, partial dioxide carbon pressure, partial oxygen pressure, oxygen saturation, base excess, bicarbonate as well as the concentration of electrolytes and anion gap were measured using a blood gas analyzer. The obtained data were subjected to statistical analyses by SPSS software and the tests of Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Pearson and descriptive statistics of the results were expressed as mean ± SE, range (minimum and maximum) and confidence interval 95.00%. The results showed the mean value of arterial blood gas including oxygen saturation, partial oxygen pressure, and partial dioxide carbon pressure were 95.69%, 61.58, and 26.28 mmHg, respectively, and the others arterial blood parameters including pH, base excess, and bicarbonate were 7.54, 1.61, and 22.84 mmol L^-1, respectively. Also, the mean values of arterial blood electrolytes including Na⁺, K⁺, and Cl^-, were 143.25, 4.22, and 109.46 mmol L^-1, respectively, and the mean anion gap was 12.64 mmol L^-1. The present study determined the range of normal amounts of arterial blood gas, electrolytes and acid-base status in the healthy male sheep of Iranian Shall breed which could be used as a reference for further research on sheep diseases and to distinguish healthy status from disease.