CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDIES ON RENAL AFFECTIONS IN CATTLE IN ASWAN GOVERNORATE

Renal disorders in cattle have received far less attention than other species of animals. All cattle in this study appeared clinically healthy, with no signs of illness. However, renal lesions were revealed upon examination at slaughterhouses and through histopathological examination. The present study aimed to assess the types of renal lesions and their prevalence in cattle slaughtered in Aswan slaughterhouses between June 2021 and May 2022, and to evaluate the influence of some of these lesions on hematological and biochemical parameters and renal function. This study was conducted on 149 male cattle. Of these, 45 (30.20%) cattle had various renal affections, while 104 (69.79%) appeared grossly and histopathologically normal, so we considered five animals from them as a normal control group. From each animal, two blood samples were collected, one with EDTA for hematological analysis, and the other without anticoagulant for biochemical examination. Representative tissue samples from the kidneys were collected and preserved in neutral buffered formalin (10%). The most prevalent renal affection was acute glomerulonephritis (10.06%), followed by nephrosis (6.71%), chronic glomerulonephritis (6.04%) and focal interstitial nephritis (5.36%). The lowest prevalent renal affection was renal calculi (2.01%). This study showed that kidney lesions in cattle may remain clinically undetectable while causing significant functional and systemic disorders. The associated hematological and biochemical changes confirm renal function disorder, where we observed elevated serum creatinine and serum urea levels in the affected cattle indicate reduced glomerular filtration rate resulting from glomerular and tubular damage. These results highlight the need for abattoir-based surveillance and histopathological examination as reliable methods for identifying concealed kidney disorders and improving cattle health management.