Crooked Calf Disease: A Histological and Histochemical Examination of Eight Affected Calves

Abstract

Macroscopic, histopathologic, and histochemical investigations were made on a group of eight neonatal Angus × Hereford calves, selected from an ongoing outbreak of crooked calf disease among calving heifers. Arthrogryposis of the forelimbs was seen to varying degrees in all eight animals, and torticollis was present in six calves. Histopathology, using hematoxylin and eosin stain, did not reveal any striking or consistent lesion in the affected animals; the majority of the tissues sampled were normal. Muscle samples were processed for adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and NADH-tetrazolium reductase (NADH-tr) histochemistry, and the data suggest that a primary myopathy is not responsible for the congenital anomalies in the affected calves.