Study on the Osteoarthrosis of the hip of the Hereford steer and its relationship with Osteochondrosis and hip dysplasia

Abstract

A syndrome which cause severe hip-lameness in Hereford cattle in Uruguay is described. Clinical, epidemiological, patological and histopatological studies were carried out. The three main risk factor of the disease are the male sex (bulls and steers), the age (animals older than 3 years) and the breed (homed and polled Hereford). A prevalence of 0.22% was estimated in a field survey of 17 fattening farms in the department of Treinta y Tres. The clinical, patological and histopatological feature of 5 cases of progressive hip lameness are described. Severe bilateral lesions of thecartilage and bone of the hip joint were the main findings. This osteoarthrosis were expressed as erosions and eburnation associated with osteophytes and thickening of the joint capsule. Osteoporosis of the affected joints was a common finding. The osteoporosis is secondary to the degenerative process and not a primary skeletal defect, because the specific gravidity of the first phalange of the affected animals (1,523; n=6) is not less the specific gravity of normal animals (l.509; n=23) (P<O.12). A comparative study between this disease and the osteochodrosis was based in pathological and histopathological studies of two osteochond rotic young bulls, in Uppsala, Sweden. The results suggested no relationship between both diseases. Since there was not a difference in the acetabular depth of affected (4.37 cm; n=3) and normal Hereford steers(4.32; n=5) the disease is probably not an acetabular or hip dyplasia.