Question

Right ventricular failure at high altitude in chicken leads to

• A. Emphysema
• B. Brisket disease
• C. Hypoxic ascites
• D. Pneumonia

Hint:

In broiler chickens, select for lower metabolic rates or manage growth rates early on to reduce oxygen demand and lower the risk of ascites syndrome.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Exposure to high altitudes reduces the partial pressure of oxygen (\(\text{PO}_2\)), causing systemic hypoxia.
In chickens, particularly fast-growing broiler breeds, hypoxia triggers significant cardiopulmonary compensatory mechanisms.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The physiological sequence leading to high-altitude pathology in chickens occurs as follows:
High-altitude hypoxia causes alveolar hypoxia, which triggers pulmonary vasoconstriction.
This vasoconstriction increases resistance to blood flow through the lungs, causing pulmonary hypertension.
The right ventricle must work harder to pump blood against this high resistance, leading to right ventricular hypertrophy and, eventually, right ventricular failure.
The failing right ventricle causes systemic venous congestion.
This venous congestion increases hydrostatic pressure in the liver and systemic veins, causing fluid to transudate into the abdominal cavity.
This fluid accumulation in the abdomen is known as ascites, and when triggered by high-altitude hypoxia, it is called hypoxic ascites (or Ascites Syndrome Pulmonary Hypertension Syndrome).
- Brisket disease is a similar condition that occurs in cattle, rather than chickens.

Step 3: Final Answer:
Right ventricular failure at high altitude in chickens leads to hypoxic ascites.