Question:

'Cud dropping' condition may be observed in cattle due to

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When you observe "cud dropping" or "dropped cud" along with salivation in cattle, always consider pharyngeal paralysis.
Be highly cautious, as pharyngeal paralysis with salivation is a primary clinical sign of rabies in cattle, posing a significant zoonotic risk.
  • Pharyngeal paralysis
  • Esophageal obstruction
  • Pharyngitis
  • Esophageal ulcer
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
In ruminants, rumination is a vital physiological process involving the regurgitation, remastication, reinsalivation, and reswallowing of partially digested fibrous feed (the cud).
This process requires a fully coordinated neuromuscular pathway involving the pharyngeal muscles, tongue, and esophagus.
When this neuromuscular coordination is disrupted, the animal loses the ability to swallow or retain the regurgitated bolus.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

'Cud dropping' (or dysphagia) is a classic clinical sign characterized by the inability of the animal to swallow or hold masticated feed in the mouth, causing the bolus to drop out.
This condition is most commonly caused by pharyngeal paralysis, which results from damage to the pharyngeal branches of the vagus (CN X) and glossopharyngeal (CN IX) nerves, or damage to the motor nuclei in the brainstem.
Pharyngeal paralysis can be initiated by various infectious diseases, such as rabies, listeriosis, botulism, or laryngeal necrobacillosis.
It can also occur due to mechanical trauma from drenching guns, foreign bodies (such as wires or bones), or deep retropharyngeal abscesses (commonly caused by *Trueperella pyogenes*).
When the pharyngeal muscles are paralyzed, the animal can still regurgitate the cud into the oral cavity and remasticate it.
However, the paralyzed pharynx cannot form the necessary negative pressure and coordinated muscular contractions required to push the bolus back into the esophagus.
As a result, saliva and masticated feed accumulate in the oral cavity, eventually dropping out of the mouth as "dropped cud".
In contrast, esophageal obstruction (choke) typically causes immediate regurgitation of feed and saliva from the nose and mouth rather than dropping chewed cud.
Pharyngitis causes painful swallowing (odynophagia) but rarely complete paralysis unless accompanied by deep abscessation.
Thus, pharyngeal paralysis is the primary cause of cud dropping.

Step 3: Final Answer:

The correct option is (A).
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