Changes in abdominal dimensions during late gestation and early lactation in Holstein-Friesian heifers and cows and their relationship to left displaced abomasum.
The changes in abdominal dimensions and contour during late gestation and early lactation were investigated in 44 Holstein-Friesian cattle, 20 normal heifers and 17 normal cows, and seven cows that had a left displaced abomasum (LDA) surgically corrected by a right flank omentopexy in a previous lactation. Abdominal measurements were made eight times during the six months spanning the last trimester of pregnancy and the first three months of lactation, they included the circumference of the thorax and abdomen, the depth and width of the abdomen, the vertical distance between the ventral abdomen and the descending duodenum, the height at the withers, and the length of the trunk. There were significant changes in these dimensions during the last trimester of pregnancy, immediately after parturition and during the first three months of lactation. The depth of the abdomen and the vertical distance between the ventral abdomen and the descending duodenum were greater in the cows with a previous history of LDA than in those without.
Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61802, USA.
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Wittek
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Sen
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Constable
D000005:Abdomen / Q000473:pathology; D000018:Abomasum / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011264:Pregnancy Trimesters / Q000502:physiology; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D013272:Stomach Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*