Page 577 - The Veterinary Laboratory and Field Manual 3rd Edition

514 Samuel Sharpe

flatter on the table. At the same time evalu- apex. Cut the apex off the heart and assess
ate the coxofemoral joint for degenerative the right and left ventricular wall ratio.
changes and so on. Similar to mammals the ratio of left to right
5 Assess body condition by noting amount should be 2–3 : 1. Cut the heart in half along
of subcutaneous adipose tissue and the its long axis to visualize the atrioventricular
prominence of the pectoral muscles. In an valves and endocardial surface.
emaciated bird the pectoral muscles will be 13 Examine the digestive system: remove the
atrophied and the sternum will appear more lower beak by cutting at the angle of the
prominent. mandible. Inspect the oral cavity, tongue and
6 Open the body cavity: by incising through choanae.
the body wall caudal to the sternum. As you
lift the sternum inspect the abdominal air i Open the oesophagus and crop: note
sacs. the quantity and quality of content and
7 Remove the pectoral muscles bilaterally by inspect the mucosa which should be
filleting away close to the bone. diffusely glistening. Note any erosions,
8 Remove the sternum: cut through the ribs ulcers or masses. Place a 2 cm long sec-
and expose the shoulder joint. Disarticulate tion of opened crop into formalin.
the shoulder joint and remove the soft tis- ii Remove the digestive system: The dis-
sues from the scapula. The entire sternum tal oesophagus, stomachs, intestine,
along with coracoid, clavicle and scapula can ceca, liver, pancreas and spleen can
be removed whole. be removed together. Incise the distal
oesophagus just below the tracheal
Note that the sternum can be removed by cut- bifurcation and applying gentle traction
ting directly through the coracoids but this pull the mass of organs from the cloaca.
limits examination of the thoracic girdle. This iii Inspect and remove the liver: The liver
method may be appropriate in domestic poultry should be homogenously dark red, soft
but in wild birds where a relatively subtle lesion to firm and both lobes should be rela-
in the sternal structures can seriously impact the tively similar in size. The caudal border
ability to fly it is best to remove the sternum and of the liver should not extend past
examine intact. the last rib and if this is present may
indicate hepatomegaly. Bread loaf and
9 Locate the thyroids which can be found at sample for histopathology, bacteriology
the root of the common carotid arteries. and toxicology.
Dissect, measure and fix in formalin. iv Remove the spleen: The shape of the
10 Open the pericardium: note the volume and spleen varies with species of bird but
character of fluid within and assess for any in all should be soft, diffusely dark red
adhesions between the pericardium and epi- with a soft, mildly exudative cut section.
cardium. Measure the diameter of the spleen and
11 Remove the heart: by cutting the great ves- cut in half. Half can be fixed and half
sels leaving 1 cm of vessel attached to the retained frozen. Impression smears can
heart. be made by pressing the cut section
12 Examine the heart: The epicardial surface against a clean glass microscope slide.
should be diffusely glistening and the heart This can be useful in detecting haemo-
should have a triangular shape and sharp parasites and round cell neoplasia.

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