Observations on Healing Process of Wall Ulcers with Concurrent Digital Dermatitis in 52 Cattle: Gross and Light Microscopic Pathology

Abstract

This paper describes the healing process of the axial and abaxial wall ulcers in cases of concurrent digital dermatitis by gross, histopathologic and therapeutic implications. Fifty two cases showed wall ulcers (13%); the prevalence rate of affected cases by abaxial wall ulcer and axial wall ulcer were 3.2 and 9.7 %, respectively. The herd had endemic digital dermatitis with prevalence in the adult herd of over 34.2 %. All the ‘non-healing’ claw disorders observed in this study were particularly severe, penetrating the horn and involving the corium. In most of cases the fissure was filled with granulated tissue. In 5 (9.6 %), 6 (11.5 %), 6 (11.5 %) and 2 (3.8 %) of all cattle the claw lesions did not heal after 2, 3, 4 and 6 months, respecitively. In 8 (15.3 %) lesions the exposed corium was never covered by new horn during the 8 month. Microscopically, there was extremely proliferative epidermis, 2-3 times as high as in the controls with severe acanthosis and rete ridge formation. Stratum corneum was hyperplastic. The evidences of healing as reduce of inflammatory reactions in dermis and repair of epidermis were observed at least after 4 weeks in early lesions. Atypical digital dermatitis must be considered an emergency.