Page 564 - The Veterinary Laboratory and Field Manual 3rd Edition

Necropsy guidelines 501

fluid? Any more than a few millilitres of clear, • Working on the ventral aspect of the head
straw coloured fluid is abnormal. free the tongue by cutting the muscles in the
• Are the lungs fully inflated and largely filling floor of the mouth.
the thorax? • With the knife tight against the inside of one
• Are any part of the lungs adhered to the chest of the mandibles make a stab incision until
wall or to the other structures in the chest? the point of the knife is felt against the roof
of the mouth.
• If present can the adhesions be easily bro- • Cut forwards to the mandibular symphysis
ken down (fibrin, acute) or are they very and caudally to the angle of the jaw.
tough (fibrous, chronic)? • Repeat on the other side.
• Using a blunt probe (a knife sharpening steel
• Are there any other organs apart from the is most effective) lever the tongue out of the
lungs, heart and mediastinal tissues in the mouth and complete excision by cutting con-
chest? Diaphragmatic hernia can lead to her- nective tissue at the frenulum.
niation of abdominal organs into the chest, • In young animals, the mandibular symphysis
and this should be noted along with the loca- can be incised using rib cutters allowing more
tion and size of the diaphragmatic defect. complete examination of the oral mucosa and
dentition.
Sampling
The hard and soft palate is now visible between
• Sample any abnormal fluid into a plain (red the mandibles. Carefully examine the gingiva
topped) blood tube. and oral mucosa for lesions. To facilitate exami-
nation the mandibular symphysis can be cut
with rib cutters.
7 open pericardium
• Incise the soft palate around the caudal bor-
• Using scissors and forceps, make a linear inci- der of the hard palate.
sion in the pericardium from the apex to the • When the hyoid is encountered, disarticulate
base of the heart. one of the joints visible adjacent to the larynx
• Record the volume and character of any fluid. allowing dissection to continue caudally.
• Note if the pericardium is adhered to any part • Continue the incision dorsal to the oesopha-
of the outer surface of the heart. gus and using the tongue as a handle dissect
the oesophagus and trachea free from the
connective tissues of the neck as far as the
Sampling
thoracic inlet.
• Sample any abnormal fluid into a plain (red • The thoracic contents are attached dorsally and
topped) blood tube. ventrally via reflections of the pleura. These
can be incised by cutting just ventral to the
vertebral bodies and dorsal to the sternebrae.
8 remove pluck • At the diaphragm, locate and ligate the
oesophagus with a double ligature. Incise the
Definition: The pluck is defined as the closely oesophagus between the ligatures.
associated organs in the neck and thorax from • In turn incise the caudal vena cava and aorta and
the tongue to the diaphragm. remove the plunk. Set aside for examination.

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