Recent Concepts in the Aetiopathogenesis of Foot Lameness in Cattle

Abstract

Foot lameness in cattle is caused usually due to damage to horn of hoof which produces severe pain when the sensitive laminae are involved. Nutrition, trauma, physiological alterations around parturition and the type of flooring constitute the main aetiological factors of foot lameness. The aetiopathogenesis of laminitis includes the disruption of peripheral vascular system of corium that can be best described as alternating phases of disturbances relating to metabolic and subsequent mechanical degradation of the internal foot structure. Systemic events associated with late pregnancy, calving and the onset of lactation compromise the structural integrity the support structures of the claw wall, predisposing the animal to the lesions of claw horn disease However if the housing and feed management of newly calved cows is such that their lying time gets reduced and rumen pH is lowered, then these adverse factors are superimposed on the normal biochemical changes occurring in the digits at the time of calving, and such animals are more likely to suffer claw horn disease in peak or mid lactation.