Buffalo Bulletin (June 1995) VoI.14 No. 2

ATRESIA ANI IN BUFFALO: A CASE REPORT

ABSTRACTA congenital atresia ani syndrome in a cross-

bred Mediterranean female buffalo calfis reported.The anomaly was characterized by abnormalanorectal formation. Necropsy examinationrevealed swelling and enlargement of the rectalampulla. The rectum was connected with the vagi-nal vestibule and the faeces passed throught thevulvar opening. The cause of this malformation isprobably an autosomal recessive gene.

INTRODUCTIONCongenital defects may affect a single struc-

ture or function, involve several body systems, orcombine structural and functional alterations(Leipold et aI., 1972).

Anal atresia is a congenital defects encoun-tered in the newborn baby of all species. This defectis regarded as an autosomal recessive gene.According to Hamori (1983), in prenatal life theanal membrane invaginates to form the anal fossa.Ifrupture ofthe anal membranedoes not take place,the rectum may develop normally but it will thenend blindly immediately beneath the skin. In thisway arises the anomaly known as atresia ani.

Atresia ani is a common defect in lambs andis lethal to males but is compatible with life in mostfemale, because of a rectovaginal fistula (Dcnnisand Leipold, 1979).

This abnormality has been described in thefeline ( Broek et a!., 1988), in swine (putte et a!.,1984), in the equine (Brown et a!., 1988), in theovine (Fischer and Adinata, 1957) and in the bovine(Singh et al., 1989). In buffalo, atresia ani wasrecorded by Chaudhry (1974) cited by Chaudhry(1978). According to this author, retention ofmeconium was the rule in atresia ani. In cases ofimpaction of the meconium, it was closely packedin the colon and rectum. The affected calf exhibitedsymptoms of straining, elevating the tail andassuming an attitude for defecation.

H.D. Lau

No information about atresia ani in Brazilianbuffaloes seems to be available in the literature. Thepresent study was undertaken to report the anomalyin buffaloes in Brazil.

CASE HISTORY AND COMMENTSA 30-day-old female buffalo showed marked

signs of distress manifested by tenesmus. Clinicalexamination revealed the absence ofthe anal orificeand protrusion ofthe anal region caused by collec-tion of faeces (Figure 1).

The prognosis for surgical correction was notgood due to the poor local conditions for thisprocedure. Necropsy examination revealed swell-ing and enlargement of the rectal ampulla. Therectum was connected with the vaginal vestibuleand faeces passed through the vulvar opening.Faeces and urine passed separately. This result is inagreement with those cited by Dennis and Leipold(1979) who reported that atresia ani is not letha1 infemales. The hypothesis for the aetiological causeof this malformation was an autosomal recessivegene.

REFERENCES

Broek, A.A.M. VanDer., EIse, R.W. and Hunter,M.S. (1988). Atresia ani and urethrorectalfistula in a kitten. Joumal of Small AnimalPractice. 29(2): 91-94.

Broun, C.M., Parks, A.H., Mullaney, T.P., Sonea,1., Stickle, R.L. (1988). Bilateral renaldysplasia and hypoplasia in a foal with animperforated anus. Veterinary Record. 122(4):91-92.

Chaudhry, N.1. (1978). Common disease problemsin buffalo calves. Pakistan Journal of Science.30: 120-126.

Humid .Tropic Agricultural Research Center (CPATU), Post- Box 48, Belem, Para, Brazil

36

Buffalo Bulletin (June 1995) Vo1.14 No. 2

Dennis, S.M. and Leipold, H.W. (1979). OvinecongenitaI defects. Veterinary Bulletin.49( 4):233-239.

Fischer, H. and Adinata, M.M. (1957). Atresia ani- a new Iethal factor in sheep. Hemera Zoa.64: 98-103.

Hamori, D. (1983). Constitutional Disorders andHereditary Diseases in Domestic AnimaIs.Budapest, EIseviers Scientific PublishingCompany.

Leipold, H.W., Dennis, S.M. and Huston, K.(1972). CongenitaI defects of cattle: nature,causeandeffect. Adv. Vet. Sci. Comp. Med.,16: 103-150.

Singh, P., Sharma, D.K., Sing, S., BehI, S.M. andChandna, I.S.(1989). Polymelia with atresiaani in a cow calf. Indian JournaI ofVeterinarySurgery. 10(1): 62-64.

Putte, S.C.J. VanDer. and Neeteson, F.A. (1984).The pathogenis of hereditary congenitaImalformations of the anorectum in the pig.Acta Morphologica Neerlando- Scandinavica.22(1): 17-40.

Figure 1. Aspectofatresiaani in buffalo a calf

37