eChapters

Ultrasonography is the process of obtaining images of an area, organ or tissue with the help of ultrasound beam that can be displayed on a screen. Such images can be recorded on videocassettes or printed on a thermal paper. Ultrasonography in veterinary practice is a revolutionary step for diagnosis of various ailments and to assess normal physiological functions of the body organs of domestic animals. Ultrasonography is considered a wonderful tool particularly for the study of reproductive functions viz. follicular dynamics, pregnancy diagnosis and abnormalities of contents of tubular tract. In 1980, Palmer and Driancourt reported for the first time, real time ultrasonography for diagnosis of pregnancy in the mare. This report generated considerable interest among veterinarians and scientists about ultrasonography and this new discovery contributed significantly towards understanding of functioning of the uterus and ovaries of mare (Chevalier and Palmer, 1982; Ginther, 1983; Ginther and Pierson, 1984a & 1984b), cows (Pierson and Ginther, 1988, Reeves et al., 1984) and other species (Buckrell, 1988; Driancourt, 1991). The ultrasonography is fast replacing the age-old procedure of rectal palpation of genital tract for pregnancy diagnosis (Pieterse et al., 1990). This technique has been used and advocated for the use in the academics and field practice.

Laparoscope

The term laparoscope derived from Greek word “Laparo” meaning “flank,” which is the side of the body between the ribs and hips (abdomen) and “scope” means to look at or examine. Laparoscope can be defined as an instrument through which structures within the abdomen and pelvis can be seen or a fiber optic device that consists of a flexible tube. Fiber optic scope is used to directly visualize the internal anatomy of a hollow organ. Laparoscope is used in laparoscopy and laparoscopic surgery. It has lenses like a telescope to magnify body structures, a powerful light to illuminate them and a miniature video camera. The camera sends images of the inside of the body to a TV monitor in the operating room. Specialized surgical instruments can be inserted through the laparoscope.

India is well known for its rich flora and fauna and is referred as one of the richest biodiversity nations of the world. The mammalian population of India is a combination of Palaearctic, Oriental and Afro-tropical fauna (Sahajpal et al. 2009). It is the home of 400 different mammalian species, 129 of these species are protected under Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 (India) and an arbitrator to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (Nameer, 2015). Illegal trade of the wildlife for preparation of various products is the common issue in the conservation and is also responsible for regional extinction of the species.

Cataract is a common cause of visual impairment and blindness in dogs and has a wide variety of aetiologies, as well as the disabling effect on the animal. Cataracts present important welfare considerations for the owner. Visual impairment in dogs may lead to increased nervousness, aggression and reluctance to exercise, all of which may adversely affect the owner-pet relationship (1). The only effective mean of treatment for cataract is surgical extraction of diseased lens (2).

Although vision is one of the important faculties for any living individual, dogs have very well developed olfactory lobe and have great sense of smell. They can move about easily in limited area familiar to them even with impaired vision. Cataract surgery was therefore not a common procedure in animals for many years. Quite often however,

Canine domestication is an age-old practice which started with guard for humans and other animals, dogs being the favorite companion animals. They have many positive social effects on lives of their owners including enhanced emotional sense and companionship and even reduction of anxiety and mental disorders. Though dogs have proven good for human health, it should be kept in mind that are prone to many disorders and infectious diseases. Healthy life of dogs is attributed to healthy lifestyle, good feeding practices and regular medical care. In addition, an equally important practice is vaccination. Since dogs live in close proximity to human beings and their environment, regular check on their immunity becomes essential, especially when kept as indoor pets. Their illnesses vary from minor issues like dental tartar to fatal diseases like tumors and rabies. Depending upon lifestyle patterns and subsequent body parameters, many predisposing factors increases the susceptibility of dogs to various diseases.

The yesteryear concept of employing one or two acclaimed anaesthetic drugs to produce sedation and general anaesthesia is now switching over to the era of balanced sedation and balanced anaesthesia. The theory of balanced anaesthesia entails achieving the state of general anaesthesia with the proportionate administration of a mixture of small amounts of several neuronal depressant drugs which summates the advantages of the individual drugs but not their disadvantages (Bettschart-Wolfensberger and Larenza, 2007). Knowledge about balanced anesthesia and targeted effects of drugs on neuronal pathways has started to influence veterinary anaesthetists worldwide. But there are many constraints for a vast majority of veterinary practitioners in India to follow this emerging modality of anaesthetic practice. It is almost impractical for most of them to get the assistance of a veterinary anaesthesiologist every time. So they experience complexities to deal with the pharmacological dosing of multiple component drugs of balanced anaesthetic protocols. Memorising the doses and calculating the volume of injection of multiple component drugs where the doses of some drugs has to be calculated in milligram per kilogram body weight while others have to be calculated in microgram per kilogram body weight becomes a cumbersome task for the practitioner. Moreover, many of these anaesthetic drugs are available in ampoules, and hence multiple ampoules have to be broken for every single surgery; consuming a lot of time. Wastage of the leftover anaesthetic in opened ampoules is another concern. Unavailability of some drugs at some areas is another issue the practitioner faces. These challenges constrain the practitioner from practicing balanced anaesthesia and most of them lean on the verily familiar conventional anaesthetic protocol, based exclusively on one or two frequently used drugs, for almost all the surgical procedures of varying depth. Since only one or two anaesthetic drugs are involved in the protocol, the drugs have to be used at its upper limit of pharmacological doses to achieve the desired endpoints of anaesthesia. This will increase the probable risk of undesired side effects of these drugs. The challenges that restrict our practitioners from advancing beyond the era of sole reliance on one or two drugs for producing the state of anaesthesia has to be addressed and measures to resolve these issues have to be evolved to promote and equip our veterinary practitioners to practice the safer technique of balanced anaesthesia. Encompassing these objectives, and based on evidence and

• General considerations

 • First hand information and constitution of a team

 • Gathering the disease information from records and the owner

 • Animal data

 • Previous illness

 • Present disease

 • Proforma for animal examination report

 • Observation of team

• Logical clinical examination of animals

 • Disease investigation kit

IoT networks and smart sensors enable continuous livestock monitoring, overcoming the delay and subjectivity associated with manual observation. This chapter reviews sensor types, communication systems, cloud and edge computing, and their applications in animal-health and behaviour tracking. It proposes a framework integrating multimodal sensors with IoT networks and machine-learning models such as CNNs and LSTMs. The system can detect abnormalities, predict health conditions and provide real-time decision support. Practical benefits include earlier intervention, improved welfare, reduced labour and more efficient production. The chapter also addresses implementation problems, costs, connectivity, data security, technical reliability and ethical considerations associated with constant digital monitoring of animals.

Key Points

• Animal euthanasia is the act of humanely killing animals, most commonly with injectable drugs.

• Euthanasia techniques vary by species, age, and the health status of the individual animal.

• Death must be confirmed before disposal of any animal remains.

• Animal remains must be disposed of in a legal manner that does not contaminate food sources or the environment.

Introduction

Euthanasia is the act of inducing humane death in an animal by a method that induces rapid loss of consciousness and death with a minimum of pain, discomfort, or distress. Euthanizing agents cause death by three basic mechanisms: (1) direct depression of neurons necessary for life function, (2) hypoxia, and (3) physical disruption of brain activity. Because loss of consciousness resulting from these mechanisms can occur at different rates, the suitability of a particular agent or method will depend on whether an animal experiences distress before loss of consciousness. Unconsciousness, defined as a loss of individual awareness, occurs when the brain’s ability to integrate information is blocked or disrupted. Ideally, euthanasia techniques cause rapid loss of consciousness, followed by cardiac or respiratory arrest and death.

Joint disarticulation: Unwanted limb is amputed by joint disarticulation method.

Site of amputation along with skin-muscle flap ratio

Fore limb:
Elbow disarticulation
Carpo-metacarpal disarticulation
Fetlock disarticulation

A. Intestinal protozoa Fresh faeces must be used as a sample. The sample must be examined immediately and without refrigeration. Methods of examination 1. Direct smear examination A thin smear of faeces mixed with either water or normal saline (recommended for Trophozoites since they stay intact and motile longer). Select blood-tinged mucus or tiny tissue bits if the faeces are dysenteric. One to two percent of an aqueous eosin solution can be used in place of saline or water, but the oocyst still resist the stain. The viability is examined using the eosin solution. It is possible to employ an iodine solution (which kills protozoa), which allows for the identification and differentiation of the protozoa. It is possible

Introduction
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) is a quality system that ensures the nonclinical safety studies are appropriately designed, conducted, and documented to generate reliable data. The laboratory techniques are defined as the processes and practices that are recommended for equipment use in the laboratory, while laboratory methods are based on established scientific principles involving biology, chemistry, and physics, and encompass all aspects of the clinical laboratory from testing the amount of cholesterol in blood to analysing DNA to growing microscopic organisms that may be causing an infection. One of the most significant parts of laboratory techniques and laboratory methods is the proper validation of the equipments (old or new equipments) as well as all the testing procedures/ methods (established or newly developed methods). Analytical method validation is a critical process to ensure the quality and safety of products. The objective of the validation of an analytical method is to demonstrate that it is suitable for its intended purpose; the results are authentic and universally acceptable. An analytical method is suitably well considered when the results generated through different method are consistent, reproducible, and thus, reliable.
The validation is required when
• A new method has been developed
• Revision of established method
• Use of established methods in different laboratories and different analysts, etc.
• Comparison of methods required
• When quality control indicates method changes

Lameness in dairy animals is a serious health problem all over the world causing substantial economic losses to dairy industry owing to reduced milk production, reduced reproductive performance, cost of treatment including medicines, increased risk of culling, death, and the development of other diseases. Lameness can be defined as a state of being unable to walk properly because of pain in the limbs or foot. The incidence of lameness in the dairy herd is variable (1 to 50%) depending on the farm. In USA its incidence varies from 13 to 55% (Hoffman et al., 2014; Cook et al., 2016). Lameness may be due to diseases of limb and/or hoof of infectious and/or noninfectious origin. Lameness usually affects hind limbs because of greater load of the body on hind limbs. A lame animal adjusts gait and posture depending on the origin of the pain (foot or upper limb). Clinical signs of lameness include changes in locomotion (e.g. decreased speed, decreased stride, length and tracking, increased abduction,

The most common indication for laparoscopy is to examine and biopsy the abdominal organs or masses. Additional diagnostic procedures that can be performed using laparoscopic guidance include gall bladder puncture to collect bile, contrast radiographic techniques for the diagnosis of bile duct obstructions, overdistension of gall bladder, portography and splenic pulp pressure measurement.

Laparoscopy is not only used in the examination of the abdominal cavity organs, surgical treatment but also in the diagnosis of the different disease conditioned by biopsy examination (removal of a sample of tissue from the living body for histopathological examination). Biopsy is indicated to ascertain a correct diagnosis, specific therapy and accurate prognosis. Laparoscopy is becoming an alternative method of monitoring biopsies of internal organs. It permits precise localization and accurate site on the various abdominal organs surface such as kidney, liver, spleen etc. Since, it is relatively noninvasive so it ranks highest amongst biopsy techniques. The technique allows visual control over the biopsy procedure, which considerably limits post biopsy complications and increases the likelihood of obtaining diagnostically useful biopsy specimens.

Positioning of the patient/anesthesia

The patient is transported to the operating room and after general anesthesia the patient is placed in a desirable position. Some operating tables can be repositioned intraoperatively, allowing the surgeon to change the angle of the patient during the procedure. Special care should be taken to avoid nerve injury by malpositioning the patient, particularly along the popliteal fossa and brachial plexus. If any part of the patient is in contact with a metal object, patient may be at risk of electro surgical burns. General anesthesia is preferred for laparoscopy as it provides adequate muscle relaxation and assisted respiration particularly as the patient is in Trendelenburg position.

Among the various modern surgical methods, laparoscopy is now held as one of the most potent and promising aids for both diagnostic (laparoscopy) and therapeutic (laparoscopic surgery) use. Laparoscopy is an endoscopic procedure that bridges the gap between clinical evaluation and surgical exploration. The laparoscopic surgical techniques in both and human and veterinary medicine have grown tremendously. Laparoscopy requires a minor surgical intervention and it provides the only available practical means of making repeated direct observation of abdominal viscera. The advantage of surgical laparoscopy over the conventional open surgical laparotomy include faster patient recovery because of smaller surgical sites, decreased hospitalization, improved cosmetic, improved visualization of abdominal organs, lower postoperative morbidity with lower infection rates, and less postoperative pain and stress. Surgeons are commonly looking for more progressive and stressful surgical methods of sterilization in dogs, particularly in canine birth control programs in urban industrial areas. Demographically dense urban and industrial areas require effective animal birth control programs that can overcome the problems of hospitalization, postoperative complications and reduction in the overall cost of operation. In a large scale animal birth control program, the conventional methods of sterilization require a long period between capture of dogs and their release, due to the time taken for the surgical wounds to heal. In this aspect, keyhole surgery (laparoscopic surgery) can revolutionize the entire program, as it needs only a very small surgical wound, which usually needs no postoperative care or regular dressings.

Many surgeons have made attempts to develop minimally invasive surgical techniques with minimum blood loss and fewer traumas, to treat the disease process and minimize patient morbidity. Laparoscopic surgery may provide a wide field of its extensive application particularly in surgical sterilization of different animal species. Furthermore, high demographic urban and industrial area requires an effective animal birth control programme, which can overcome the problem of hospitalization, postoperative complications, and the overall cost reduction of operation. The sterilization of (both male and female) is effective measure in controlling the stray dog’s problem. Because the sterilization of either male or female alone is not effective and also sterilization of female consume more time when compared to male sterilization. To combat stray dogs in Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme, it is effective to sterilize the male also. Castration of male dogs by conventional open method has many disadvantages and postoperative complications such as hemorrhage, wound dehiscence, infections, maggot infestations and scrotal swellings etc. In a large scale Animal Birth Control programme, the conventional methods of sterilization requires a long period between capture of dogs and their release due to the time taken for the surgical wounds to heal. In this aspect, Keyhole surgery (Laparoscopic surgery) can revolutionize the entire programme, as it needs only very small surgical wound, which usually needs no postoperative care or regular dressings. It also avoids postoperative complications such as wound dehiscence, herniation, etc. and reduces the surgical stress to animal as well as recurring cost of each surgery.

Introduction

Laparoscopy is an operative procedure, performed through a keyhole opening with a rigid telescope that allows visual inspections and biopsy of the peritoneal cavity and its organs. Laparoscopy was first introduced in 1901 in human medicine. It has only been in the last 15 years that laparoscopy has been widely used in various animal species for research, clinical diagnosis and therapeutic purposes. Veterinary laparoscopy was widely used initially in the reproductive physiology in equine, nonhuman primate and various zoo and exotic species. The first clinical application of laparoscopy in dog involved ovarian physiology in the early 1960s, and Lettow reported the first laparoscopic liver biopsy procedure in a dog in 1972. The utility of laparoscopy in animal physiology particularly in reproductive physiology is wide and it has been used in almost all the species with encouraging results.

Introduction

The most common indication for laparoscopy in zoo animal clinical medicine includes evaluation of liver disorders (e.g. cirrhosis, hepatitis, hepatomegaly), staging for cancer treatment (liver and peritoneal metastases), diagnosis of various peritoneal diseases (e.g. ascites), diagnosis of pelvic soft tissue diseases (e.g. ovarian problem, endometritis, pyometra,) and diseases of spleen and pancreas. The utility of laparoscopy in zoo animal practice is wide and it has been used in almost all the species with encouraging results. Laparoscopy is now most commonly used in zoo animal medicine to examine and biopsy of liver, gall bladder, kidney, spleen, pancreas, ovaries and prostrate. It provides an excellent means for visualizing the surfaces and colour. Even subtle color and texture changes can be readily detected. The liver is generally evaluated through a right lateral mid abdominal approach in canine and feline species of zoo animals. Abnormal gross liver changes that can be readily appreciated include hepatic lipidosis, glycogen leaden liver, metastasis or multifocal neoplasm, nodular hyperplasia, cirrhosis, cholangihepatitis, extra hepatic biliary tract obstruction etc. Using grasping forceps advanced through the second puncture cannula, the biopsy can be obtained quickly and safely in zoo animals. The pancreas can usually be visualized thorough a right abdominal approach and biopsy samples can be safely obtained.