**10. Acknowledgements**

The authors would like to thank all their veterinarian colleagues who kindly provided photographs to illustrate this chapter and also those who over the years have referred patients with dysmorphisms. Dr. Moura would especially like to thank Dr. Ana Maria Della Torre (Clínica Veterinária Vida Animal), Dr. Antonia Maria do Rocio Binder do Prado (Pontíficia Universidade Católica do Paraná), Dr. Enio Celso Heller (Clínica Veterinária

<sup>13</sup> Supplementing food with folic acid has been recommended to prevent neural tube defects and cleft lip and palate in humans. This food supplement for pregnant Boston terriers, a breed of dog that is particularly susceptible to cleft lip and palate, significantly reduced the occurrence of these abnormalities in controlled studies (Elwood & Colquhoum, 1997; Guilloteau et al., 2006).

examinations should be conducted in the later stages of the pregnancy; 4) Examinations that use radioactive contrast (scintigraphy) should not be conducted; 5) Care should be taken concerning the quality and conservations of animal food. Feed that is exposed to dampness could lead to contamination by mycotoxins; 6) Food should be supplemented with folic acid13; 7) Pregnant animals that suffer from diabetes should be monitored. In humans, diabetes mellitus is a significant risk factor when it comes to congenital defects. This may

When a dysmorphic animal is born, its owners can have many different reactions: pity, fear or repulsion, to name a few. They also make different decisions: some will care for the animal, while others may abandon it or kill it. Those who seek a veterinarian wish to give the animal to a new owner, treat it or sacrifice it. What will be done depends on the moral and ethical principles of each owner and each veterinarian. The most common argument is that, to avoid a life of suffering, the affected animal should be euthanatized. In this case, some points have to be considered: 1) In the case of serious malformations that are incompatible with life or when there are no technical resources to treat the animal properly, the ethical choice is undoubtedly to shorten the suffering; 2) Many cases that initially seem to be incompatible with life can be fully resolved with adequate treatment, while in other cases the animal may not even require surgery to live well, as long as it received proper care and affection. This includes some cases of conjoined twins. Unlike humans, animals have no awareness of their appearance and do not suffer because of it and can live happy lives if their owner gives them care and affection; 3) If the defects are not extensive, there are owners who decide not to submit their animal to surgery when they realize that it is living well and is not suffering and they develop an emotional tie and grow used to its different appearance; 4) There are cases when medical treatment is enough to make the animal comfortable, even though it may not completely cure the deficiency; 5) There are people who cannot bear the idea of looking after dysmorphic animals, while others do not mind and feel gratified when they see that they are keeping the animal alive. These latter are often willing to adopt animals with deficiencies; 6) The treatment and monitoring of dysmorphic animals generates technical and scientific knowledge that results in improved efficiency and quality of medical and nursing care for new cases in both animals and humans. However that may be, the decisions reflect the socioeconomic and cultural status of each society.

The authors would like to thank all their veterinarian colleagues who kindly provided photographs to illustrate this chapter and also those who over the years have referred patients with dysmorphisms. Dr. Moura would especially like to thank Dr. Ana Maria Della Torre (Clínica Veterinária Vida Animal), Dr. Antonia Maria do Rocio Binder do Prado (Pontíficia Universidade Católica do Paraná), Dr. Enio Celso Heller (Clínica Veterinária

13 Supplementing food with folic acid has been recommended to prevent neural tube defects and cleft lip and palate in humans. This food supplement for pregnant Boston terriers, a breed of dog that is particularly susceptible to cleft lip and palate, significantly reduced the occurrence of these

abnormalities in controlled studies (Elwood & Colquhoum, 1997; Guilloteau et al., 2006).

also be the case in animals.

**10. Acknowledgements** 

**9. Ethical aspects in veterinary dysmorphology** 

Guaíra), Dr. Jaime Trevisan Ribeiro (Clínica Veterinária Pedigree), Dr. José Leônidas Wagner (Clínica Veterinária Pet House), Dr. Joséli Maria Büchele (Pontíficia Universidade Católica do Paraná), Dr. Luiz Carlos Leite (Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste, PR), Dr. Marconi Rodrigues de Farias (Pontíficia Universidade Católica do Paraná), Dr. Pedro Vicente Michelloto Junior (Pontíficia Universidade Católica do Paraná), Dr. Robson Gomes da Costa Gouveia (Clínica Veterinária Guaíra), Dr. Silvana Maris Cirio (FEPAR) and Dr. Valter da Silva Queiroz (Pontíficia Universidade Católica do Paraná).

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**6** 

**Use of Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry** 

The applications of Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) to vertebrate research and veterinary practice are many. DXA has been used successfully to rapidly and non-invasively quantify bone density and body composition in a variety of animals. The use of DXA has been limited, primarily, to basic and applied research, but DXA technology has great promise for clinical practice involving animals. Despite this potential, a number of limitations hinder its use in veterinary practice. These issues must be resolved before DXA can be widely used in traditional veterinary practice and a goal of this chapter is to discuss these limitations. This chapter reviews the past and current uses of DXA in basic and

DXA is a non-invasive technique for the determination of body composition. Users of DXA are able to rapidly quantify lean tissue mass, fat mass, total body mass, bone mineral mass, and bone mineral density. A comprehensive review of how DXA quantifies body composition can be found in (Adams, 1997; Jebb, 1997; Peppler & Mazess, 1981; Pietrobelli et al., 1996). The method by which DXA estimates body composition is based on the principle that the intensity of X-rays as they pass through tissues is attenuated in proportion to tissue

The attenuation of a single intensity X-ray beam, as it passes through a single-tissue model (e.g. bone) of unknown mass, can be calculated based on the equation below (modified from

where R is the degree of attenuation, MB is the mass of the tissue (e.g. bone), and RB is the tissue-specific attenuation coefficient. In this scenario, bone mass is the unknown of interest

**1. Introduction** 

**2. DXA theory** 

mass (Figure 1).

Jebb, 1997):

applied research involving non-human vertebrates.

**(DXA) with Non-Human Vertebrates:** 

**Considerations for Research** 

�� � �����) (1)

 **and Clinical Practice** 

*Kutztown University,* 

*USA* 

Matthew D. Stone and Alec J. Turner

**Application, Challenges, and Practical** 

