Ultrasonographic measurement of abomasal volume, location, and emptying rate in calves

Wittek, Thomas; Constable, Peter D.; Marshall, Tessa S.; Crochik, Sonia S.

doi:10.2460/ajvr.2005.66.537

Cited by 34 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Nevertheless, no evidence of backflow has been reported in calves (Guilhermet et al, 1975) and the occurrence of milk in the rumen can be largely attributed to malfunction of the esophageal groove. Ultrasonography offers the opportunity to measure AMV, assuming that the filled abomasum takes the shape of an ellipsoid (Wittek et al, 2005). A good estimation of milk leakage during drinking then requires the measurement of AMV shortly after feeding (<3 min post-prandial; Wittek et al, 2005) because 30% of ingested liquid may have already be emptied from the abomasum during the first 30 min after feeding (measured as duodenal appearance of liquid 30 min after feeding; Toullec et al, 1971).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ultrasonography offers the opportunity to measure AMV, assuming that the filled abomasum takes the shape of an ellipsoid (Wittek et al, 2005). A good estimation of milk leakage during drinking then requires the measurement of AMV shortly after feeding (<3 min post-prandial; Wittek et al, 2005) because 30% of ingested liquid may have already be emptied from the abomasum during the first 30 min after feeding (measured as duodenal appearance of liquid 30 min after feeding; Toullec et al, 1971). This appears difficult to realize because ultrasonography needs physical restriction of the calf and local application of an ultrasonography gel, which cannot be performed before or during drinking because this may affect the behavior of the calf, cause stress and increase the amount of ruminal milk (Herrli-Gygi et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Plasma was harvested and stored at − 20°C pending analysis. Width, height and length of the abomasum were measured by ultrasonography (3.5 MHz ultrasound linear transducer, MyLab 30; Pie Medical, Maastricht, The Netherlands) after local application of a gel to the skin of the abdominal site (from the xiphoid process to the navel; Wittek et al, 2005). Measurements were conducted three times during the 1 st hour after feeding and once per hour during 3 subsequent hours.…”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The AMV in the shape of an ellipsoid was calculated from the height, width and length of the abomasum as: height × width × length × π/6 (Wittek et al, 2005). Two calculations were used for estimating RMV.…”

Section: Calculationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Imaging techniques of the digestive tract can also be used to quantify transit of digesta in the gastrointestinal tract. For instance, ultrasonography has been proposed as a method to identify ruminal drinkers (Braun and Gautschi, 2013) and it offers the opportunity to measure abomasal milk volume (AMV) in calves (Wittek et al, 2005). This may allow quantification of RMV by subtracting the increase in AMV after feeding from total milk volume intake.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Estimation of milk leakage into the rumen of milk-fed calves through an indirect and repeatable method

Labussière

Berends

Gilbert

et al. 2014

Animal

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In milk-fed calves, quantification of the milk that enters the rumen (ruminal milk volume, RMV) because of malfunction of the esophageal groove reflex may explain part of the variability observed between animals in their growth performance. The RMV can directly be quantified by adding an indigestible marker to the diet and measuring its recovery in the rumen at slaughter, but this technique cannot be repeated in time in the same animal. The objective of the study was to evaluate three indirect methods for estimating RMV. The first method was based on the assumption that ruminal drinking delays and limits acetaminophen appearance in blood after ingestion of milk supplemented with acetaminophen. The second method was based on a negative linear relationship between RMV and urinary recovery of non-metabolizable monosaccharides (3-O-methylglucose, L-rhamnose and D-xylose) added to the milk, owing to rumen fermentation. In the third method, RMV was calculated as the difference between total milk intake and the increase in abomasal milk volume (AMV) at feeding, measured through ultrasonography shortly after feeding, or estimated from the mathematical extrapolation of AMV to feeding time, based on consecutive measurements. These methods were tested in three experiments where calves (n = 22, 10 and 13) were bucket fed or partly tube fed (i.e. by inserting milk replacer into the rumen via a tube to mimic ruminal drinking). In addition, Co-EDTA and Cr-EDTA were used as an indigestible marker in one experiment to trace bucket-fed or tube-fed milk replacer, respectively, to measure RMV. The relationship between AMV measured by ultrasonography and AMV measured at slaughter improved when kinetics of AMV were extrapolated to the time of slaughter by mathematical modeling (error between predicted and measured AMV equaled 0.49 l). With this technique, RMV during feeding averaged 17% and 24% of intake in Experiments 2 and 3, respectively. Plasma acetaminophen kinetics and recovery of non-metabolizable monosaccharides in urine were partly associated with ruminal drinking, but these techniques are not considered quantitatively accurate without further information of rumen degradation and absorption. The recovery of indigestible marker measured at slaughter gave a quantitative estimate of RMV (2% in Experiment 3), but improper measurement of emptying rate of fluid from the rumen may lead to underestimation. In conclusion, measuring changes in AMV by ultrasonography, in response to milk feeding, was the most promising indirect method to quantify RMV in veal calves.

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