A retrospective study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of different diseases in cats referred for investigation of chronic nasal disease, to identify historical, clinical and diagnostic features which may assist in making a diagnosis, and to provide information pertaining to outcome in these cats. Diagnoses included neoplasia (30 cases), chronic rhinitis (27), foreign body (8), nasopharyngeal stenosis (5), Actinomyces infection (2), nasal polyps (2), stenotic nares (2), and rhinitis subsequent to trauma (1). The most common neoplasia was lymphosarcoma (21 cases), with a median survival of 98 days for cats treated with multiagent chemotherapy. Cats with neoplasia were older on average than the other cats, and were more likely to be dyspnoeic and have a haemorrhagic and/or unilateral nasal discharge than cats with chronic rhinitis. Cats with neoplasia were more likely to have radiographic evidence of nasal turbinate destruction, septal changes, or severe increases in soft tissue density than cats with chronic rhinitis. It was unusual for cats with diseases other than neoplasia to be euthanased as a result of their nasal disease.

The case histories of 175 dogs with ureteral ectopia were reviewed; there were 156 females and 19 males. Golden retrievers, labrador retrievers and Skye terriers appeared to be over-represented. Their median age when examined was 10 months, and the males were significantly older than the females. Fifty-six animals were affected bilaterally, 50 were affected on the left side alone and 69 on the right side alone. One hundred and twenty-two cases had other abnormalities and 67 had more than one; they included hydro-ureter, hydronephrosis, pyelonephritis, bladder hypoplasia and congenital incompetence of the urethral sphincter mechanism. Forty-one cases were not treated, and the other 134 were treated by ureteronephrectomy, extravesicular ureteric transplantation or intravesicular ureteric transplantation. One hundred and twelve cases were available for follow-up for a median period of over two years (range one month to 15 years). The response to surgery and the incidence of complications was similar after each method of treatment. Sixty-five of the 112 cases were cured of incontinence and 26 were improved. The complication rate (14 per cent overall) was similar for each procedure although different types of complications occurred. Hydronephrosis occurred most commonly after extravesicular transplantation and dysuria occurred most commonly after intravesicular transplantation.

The mass transfers of O 2 , glucose, NH 3 , urea and amino acids across the portal-drained viscera (PDV) and the liver were quantified, by arterio-venous techniques, during the last 4 h of a 100 h infusion of 0 (basal), 150 or 400 mol NH 4 HCO 3 /min into the mesenteric vein of three sheep given 800 g grass pellets/d and arranged in a 3 × 3 Latin-square design. Urea irreversible loss rate (ILR) was also determined by continuous infusion of [ 14 C]urea over the last 52 h of each experimental period. PDV and liver movements of glucose, O 2 and amino acids were unaltered by NH 4 HCO 3 administration, although there was an increase in PDV absorption of non-essential amino acids (P = 0⋅037) and a trend for higher liver O 2 consumption and portal appearance of total amino acid-N, glucogenic and non-essential amino acids at the highest level of infusion. PDV extraction of urea-N (P = 0⋅015) and liver removal of NH 3 (P Ͻ 0⋅001), release of urea-N (P = 0⋅002) and urea ILR (P = 0⋅001) were all increased by NH 4 HCO 3 infusion. Hepatic urea-N release (y) and NH 3 extraction (x) were linearly related (R 2 0⋅89), with the slope of the regression not different from unity, both for estimations based on liver mass transfers (1⋅16; SE 0⋅144; P b 1 = 0⋅31) and [14 C]urea (0⋅97; SE 0⋅123; P b 1 = 0⋅84). The study indicates that a sustained 1⋅5 or 2⋅4-fold increase in the basal NH 3 supply to the liver did not impair glucose or amino acid supply to non-splanchnic tissues; nor were additional N inputs to the ornithine cycle necessary to convert excess NH 3 to urea. Half of the extra NH 3 removed by the liver was, apparently, utilized by periportal glutamate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase for sequential glutamate and aspartate synthesis and converted to urea as the 2-amino moiety of aspartate.

Ventral median cervical surgical exploration is recommended in dogs with acute penetrating injury of the oropharynx or esophagus if there is radiographic evidence of tissue emphysema.