Necropsy-examination of an animal after it has died

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Necropsy-examination of an animal after it has
died
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Necropsy Fun at the Beach
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Terms

• Pathologystudy of disease
• Gross pathologypathologic changes seen with
  naked eye
• Histopathologyclinical changes seen with a
  microscope
• Lesionspathologic changes
• Pathogenesisthe sequence of events of the
  disease (dog was bitten ? bacteria entered wound
  ? elevated temperature ? pus formed ? etc)

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Reasons for Necropsy

• Determine cause of death
• Determine accuracy of clinical diagnosis
• Evaluate effects of therapy
• In herds, 1 or more animals may be sacrificed to
  determine the cause of disease or toxicity
• Routine in pharmaceutical studies

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Preliminary Steps for Necropsy

• Obtain owners permission also determine if owner
  wants remains for burial, etc
• Correctly identify animal (species, breed, sex,
  age, ID tags or tattoos)
• Perform necropsy ASAP after death if delayed,
  refrigerate animal to delay autolysis DONT
  FREEZE

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Necropsy Report

• Location
• Number of lesions
• Color of abnormalities (dark red, black, etc)
• Size of lesions (cm or weight)
• Shape of lesion (round, flat, oval)
• Distribution
• Consistency (hard, soft, firm)
• Odor (sweet, sour, ammonia)
• Final Report tense should be consistent
• Report should be as specific as possible without
  giving a final diagnosis unless a test for the Dx
  was performed (i.e. rabies)

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Necropsy Facilities
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Necropsy Protective Clothing

• Plastic apron, lab coat, scrubs
• latex or plastic disposable gloves
• surgical mask if animal died from infectious
  disease spread by aerosolization
• protective footwear

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Necropsy Tools

• Knives
• Scissors
• Tissue forceps
• Bone-cutting tools (pruning shears, hacksaw)

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Toxicology Samples

• blood (10-20 ml)
• stomach contents and urine (50-100 ml)
• blocks of liver, fat, kidney, and brain (5x5x10
  cm approx 200 g)
• Samples

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Examine Exterior
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Necropsy facility overhead hoist
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Horse necropsy remove foreleg
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Horse necropsy remove rib cage
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Horse necropsy internal organs
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Horse necropsy remove intestine
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Horse necropsy lungs and heart
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Horse necropsy heart
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Horse necropsy head
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Necropsy Videos

• http//video.vet.cornell.edu/virtualvet/bovine/cha
  pters1-4.html

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Esophagus
Normal
Food Ulcerations Bleeding
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Larynx
normal
necrosis ulceration
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Trachea
normal
necrosis ulceration
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Pericardial sac
Click on picture to view video
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Lungs
Normal Bronchopheumonia
Normal lung tissue -pink -spongy
Lung abscess -liquid/cottage cheese
like appearance
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Airways and vessels
Lung artery
Lung airway
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Normal lung tissue
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Lung lesions
Emphysema -pops like bubble-wrap
Consolidation -heavy solid (no air)
Lung worms
Lung adhesions to ribs
Pneumonia- darker lesions are more severe
Abscesses
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Heart R ventricle
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Heart R side opened
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Heart L side
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Heart Lesions
Septal defectsconnection between R and L sides
Necrotic lesions
Valve lesions
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Liver lesions
Liver abscesses Liver flukes
Fatty liver
Fractured liverdue to blunt trauma (knife cuts
smooth)
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PACKAGING
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Clean up