[Congenital cardiac anomalies (pentalogy of Fallot) in a two year old ram with brachygnathia inferior]. / Kongenitale Herzanomalien (Fallotsche Pentalogie) bei einem zweijährigen Schafbock mit Brachygnathia inferior.

In a nearly two-year-old ram, descending from a breeding trial to investigate the effects of shortness of the lower jaw (brachygnathia inferior), a congenital cardiac anomaly was observed. At the age often months the affected animal, a cross breed of Cameroon Sheep and East Friesian Milk Sheep, showed exercise-induced respiratory distress for the first time. Auscultation revealed a loud systolic heart murmur (grade 5) on both sides of the thorax, most prominent over the left third intercostal space at shoulder height. Postmortem examination of the ram's heart showed a pentalogy of Fallot, consisting of a pulmonic stenosis, a ventricular septal defect, an overriding aorta, a right ventricular hypertrophy and a patent foramen ovale. A genetic defect has to be considered as a possible reason.

[Investigation of the age-dependent development of brachygnathia inferior in the East Friesian milk sheep]. / Untersuchungen zur altersabhängigen Entwicklung der Unterkieferverkürzung (Brachygnathia inferior) anhand eines Zuchtversuches beim Ostfriesischen Milchschaf.

Shortness of the lower jaw (brachygnathia inferior, underbite) is a common anomaly in sheep. In order to study the age-dependent development of brachygnathia inferior, data of 73 East Friesian milk sheep from a breeding experiment over six generations were analysed. Data were recorded in regular intervals of four weeks from birth up to an age of at least 25 weeks. Brachygnathia inferior was determined by the distance between the edge of the central incisor of the lower jaw and the anterior surrounding of the upper jaw (DIFF-UK) using a measuring tape. Four main types of brachygnathia inferior were distinguished using means, standard deviations and maximum values of the individual animals.The thresholds were a maximum and mean DIFF-UK of 0.5 cm and a standard deviation of 0.266 cm. A total of 14 sheep (main types 3 and 4) showed an obvious brachygnathia inferior with mean DIFF-UK larger than 0.5 cm whereof ten animals showed a large variation of DIFF-UK values (standard deviation > 0.226 cm). Mean DIFF-UK values of 59 sheep were smaller than 0.5 cm (main types 1 and 2). One of these 59 animals had during the first four weeks of life DIFF-UK values of 1 cm and than decreasing values reaching zero within the next nine months (main type 2). Five of the 58 animals with main type 1 had a perfect occlusion of jaws, all with DIFF-UK values at zero during the whole recording period. Parents with severe or mild brachygnathia inferior had severely affected progeny. Selection of sheep for breeding with a perfect occlusion of jaws decreases the risk to pass on the hereditary disposition for brachygnathia inferior. An early inspection of potential breeding animals is advisable to detect all cases of brachygnathia inferior even if the underbite decreases in the first year of life.