Pathomorphological Investigation of Pulmonary Lesions in Slaughtered Bovines

Pathomorphological Investigation of Pulmonary Lesions in Slaughtered Bovines

Biswadeep Behera¹, Parthasarathi Behera², Debasish Behera³, Sandeep Kumar⁴, ¹Madhusmita Mohanta

¹Veterinary Assistant Surgeon, Govt. of Odisha, ²Associate Professor, Dept. of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Central Agricultural University, Aizawl, Mizoram, ³Associate Professor, Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, R.K. Nagar, ⁴Ph.D. Scholar, Dept. of Livestock Products Technology, Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Bikaner, Rajasthan.

Corresponding Email: biswadeepbehera@gmail.com

Abstract

Lung is a vital organ of the body and susceptible for several pathological affection indicative for disease conditions. Lung gets condemned for consumption if there is any pathological evidence of significant infectious diseases or disease conditions during carcass inspection. Parasitic diseases like hydatidosis, verminous pneumonia; bacterial diseases such as tuberculosis, abscess, viral diseases such as rhinitis, influenza and fun-gal diseases like mycoplasmosis, aspergillosis are the most common causes of condemnation of lungs. Besides, several other pathological affections like fibrosis, abscess, atelectasis, cysts, hemorrhages, congestion, edema, and pneumonia are common in lungs.

Key Word: Bovine, Lungs, Pathology, Slaughter

Introduction

Common pathological lesions recorded in lungs were pneumonia, haemorrhages, congestion, hard nodule formation, cyst in lungs, emphysematous lungs, pneumoconiosis, atelectasis, hemosiderosis and calcification (Jubb et al., 1993; Radostits et al., 2002).

Incidence of Different Pathological Lesions

Ahmed et al. (2013) investigated 649 lungs of cattle in Ismailia abattoir, Egypt and revealed that there were 94 cases of lung congestion (6.5%), 137 lung abscesses (9.4%) and 418 cases of pneumonia (28.7%). Raji et al. (2010) studied the pathological conditions of lungs of cattle in Zaria, Nigeria and reported that pneumonia (8.79%), emphysema (4.71%), and abscesses (4.55%) were commonly encountered. Vikas and Deepika (2016) conducted aetio-pathological studies of respiratory affections in buffalo calves in Hisar, India and revealed that, there was congestion in 50% cases. Fibrinous deposition (8.33%), consolidation (25%), emphysema (8.33%) and abscess (8.33%) were also reported by them.

Akbor et al. (2007) investigated 80 lungs of slaughtered buffaloes in Barisal sadar, Barisal, Bangladesh and revealed that there were haemorrhage and congestion (16.25%), hard nodule formation (7.5%), cyst in lungs (6.25%), emphysematous lung (5%) and thickened pleura (2.5%). On histopathological examination of lungs, they noticed a number of conditions or lesions such as chronic interstitial pneumonia (3.75%), oedema fluid (3.75%), broncho-pneumonia (3.75%), bronchitis (2.5%), bronchiolitis (2.5%), pneumonia-congested stage (8.75%), hydatid cyst (6.25%), fibrinous pneumonia (3.75%), healed nodule (7.5%), purulent bronchopneumonia (1.25%), fibrinopurulent pneumonia (1.25%), sub-acute fibrinous pneumonia (1.25%), pulmonary adenomatosis (1.25%), pleuritis (2.5%) and hemosiderosis (3.75%).

According to Mc Gavin et al. (2001) different types of pneumonia observed commonly in bovines were fibrinous pneumonia, suppurative bronchopneumonia, Mycoplasmal pneumonia, Embolic pneumonia, Verminous pneumonia and interstitial pneumonia.

Fibrinous Pneumonia (Lobar Pneumonia) was mainly produced by M. haemolytica and to a lesser extent by H. somni and was the most common form of acute pneumonia in weaned, stressed beef cattle (shipping fever). Fibrinous pneumonia was mainly bilateral, cranioventrally distributed and there was minimal compressible lung consolidation. This was characterized by wide distension of interlobular septa with yellow gelatinous oedema or coagulated fibrin and there was presence of a marbled appearance in consolidated lobes (Andrews and Kennedy, 1997).

Pneumonia

The most common form of pneumonia seen in young dairy calves was suppurative bronchopneumonia (Lobular Bronchopneumonia) and it was most often associated with P. multocida infection, although other respiratory bacteria may also produce the same lesion. The pneumonia was bilateral, cranioventrally distributed, and moderately firm. In acute lesion, the affected lobes were fairly uniform in colour varying from pink, pink-grey, dark red, red-grey, or grey and there was minimal to mild interlobular septal oedema (Caswell and Williams, 2007).

Caseo-necrotic Bronchopneumonia (Mycoplasmal Pneumonia) was the characteristic of chronic Mycoplasma infection, especially by M. bovis, which is more virulent than another bovine Mycoplasma spp. (Haines et al., 2001). There was presence of clusters of discrete yellow foci of caseous necrosis within lobules, which often range from 1 to 10 mm in diameter. The surrounding lobular tissue was often mottled to uniformly grey to dark red and in more severe lesions, there were coalescence of necrotic foci and sequestra was seen (Caswell and Archambault, 2007).

Lopez (2007) reported that embolic pneumonia consisted of multiple, randomly distributed inflammatory foci throughout all lung lobes. In contrast, abscesses that developed in chronic suppurative bronchopneumonia and fibrinous pleuropneumonia maintain a cranioventral distribution.

According to Panuska (2006) verminous pneumonia was mostly caused by Dictyocaulus viviparus i.e. cattle lungworm, and lesions were reported in pastured cattle or in feedlots supplied primarily by cattle from Southern states. During the prepatent period, larvae migrated within the lung and there was development of small foci of interstitial pneumonia, eosinophilic bronchiolitis. This resulted in gross appearance of small multifocal areas of lobular atelectasis and pulmonary oedema.

In interstitial pneumonia, inflammatory changes were found in the alveolar wall and alveolar interstitium. Microscopically, severe inflammatory cell infiltrations in the interstitial tissue, besides alveolar and bronchial epithelial hyperplasia were found (Gomez et al., 2001).

Hydatid Cyst

Hydatid cyst was characterized by the cyst formation of varying sizes and histologically, the wall was composed of proliferation of fibrous connective tissue with infiltration of mononuclear cells and few eosinophils (Chowdhury et al., 2001).

Atelectasis

Atelectatic lung showed collapsed alveolar space with increased thickness of the septa. The blood vessel of the affected part was congested. Pulmonary haemorrhages are related to severe septicaemia or traumatic lesion to the lung. Agonal haemorrhages resulted from seizures and struggling during slaughter also results in pinpoint haemorrhage over lung surface particularly in the anterior lobes. Pulmonary congestion occurs due to the obstruction of the pulmonary vessels and is sometimes followed by pulmonary oedema (Blood and Henderson, 1976).

Calcification

 In pathologic calcification of lung, calcium deposits appeared as white or grey in colour, the lungs were irregularly rounded. When tissues were sliced with a knife, there was gritting feeling. In melanosis, the lungs were seen as black or brown spots of irregular shape not associated with any change in texture. Melanin pigment on microscopic examinations appeared as black colour granules in the lung, but it gave black colour with red background when stained with Masson Fontana method. In hemosiderosis, there was brown coloration to the affected lungs (Jongsam et al., 2002). At histopathological examination, hemosiderin appeared as brownish yellow granules inside macrophages. These granules reacted to Perl’s Prussian blue stain taking blue colour (Bancroft and Gamble, 2008).

Emphysema

Cattle emphysematous lungs were enlarged in size, dry, pale in colour and easily compressed by finger. Microscopically, there were over distended alveoli and some ruptured with confluence of neighbouring alveoli to produce giant alveoli. Pneumoconiosis is caused by irritation of dust particles and there were fibrosis and accumulation of macrophages (Cotran and Robbins, 1997).

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