VCP 411: Medicine Section

Visible mucous membrane

VISIBLE MUSOUS MEMBRANE

• Visible mucous membrane will be useful in giving the health status of animals

How do you do that?

• The sites for examining the mucous membranes in different species of animals conjunctival, nasal, buccal, vaginal, cloacal, urethral, rectal, and tissues surrounding the orifices.
• Hold the hand with one hand over the head and other under the jaw
• Slightly press the upper eyelid with the thumb of the top hand and then turn down the lower eyelid with thumb of the hand holding the lower jaw( cattle) in dog just turn down the lower eyelid.
• For examining the oral mucous membrane the hand over the head is moved further down so that the thumb and index finger is used to lift the upper lip
• In cats, the tongue is best indicator as the gingival mucous membrane is always pale due to the fibrous lamina propria.

What all you can observe?

• Colour - icteric in jaundice, pale in anemia, petichiae in coagulation abnormalities, cyanosis in card iac insufficiency

Capillary refill time

• Press a finger on a non pigmented area of the upper gingival mucosa for a second, now release the finger to notice the disappearance of the whiteness. The time taking for this change is recorded as CRT  

Moisture

• Moist in healthy animals and dry/sticky in dehydrated animalsnjury, growth, dental calculous etc.

Lesions 

• Look for any injury, lesions haemorrhage etc.