Pathology in Practice

摘要

A male Holstein fetus that had been aborted at a gestational age of 7 months and placenta were submitted for necropsy. The fetus weighed 5.8 kg (12.8 lb). The dam resided on a dairy farm (herd size, 30 bo-vids). The cow aborted the fetus on December 5, 2007, approximately 7 months after artificial insemination. The vaccination history of the herd was unknown.Clinical and Gross Findings - On gross examination, autolysis of the fetus was moderate, and the crown to rump length was 49 cm. There were multiple to coalescing gray, slightly raised, cutaneous plaques on the skin at the base of the tail, dorsum, and the top of the head around the ears and eyes (Figure 1). Pete-chiae were present on the skin in the area of the gluteal muscles. The rumen and abomasum were severely distended by clear gelatinous material consistent with amniotic fluid. The lungs were diffusely atelectatic, indicating that the fetus had not taken a breath of air. On the placenta, there were focally extensive, dry, thick, yellow plaques covering the intercotyle-donary area and most cotyledons. Some cotyledons were red, decreased in height, and irregular. Results of nitrate testing of a sample of the aqueous humor of an eye were negative.