K88 Antigen This is possessed by certain strains of E. coli which cause diarrhoea in piglets during their first few days of life. ( See E. COLI; BACTERIAL ADHESIVENESS .) K99 Antigen K99 Antigen is found in strains of E. coli which cause diarrhoea in calves. K Value This is used as a measure of the insulating value of building materials such as glass fibre, wood. Kala-Azar (Dumdum Fever) A human disease caused by LEISHMANIA. Kale Kale contains a factor which gives rise to goitre if fed in large amounts, without other foods, over a long period. Haemoglobinuria some- times follows the grazing of frosted kale by cattle, which may suffer anaemia without show- ing this symptom. The illness can be serious, resembling POST-PARTURIENT HAEMOGLOBIN- URIA , and may result in sudden death. The frothy type of bloat may also occur in cattle eating excessive quantities of kale – especially, it seems, during wet weather and when no hay is fed. There is some evidence to suggest that the feeding of large quantities of kale may lead to low conception rates, and to mastitis. ( See also BLOAT .) It should be added that kale anaemia and haemoglobinuria are by no means always asso- ciated with frosted kale, but merely with an excessive (probably over 18 kg (40 lb) per cow per day) intake of kale. The symptoms of kale anaemia include lassitude and rapid breathing and pulse-rate. ‘Kangaroo Gait’ ‘Kangaroo gait’ in ewes, both in New Zealand and in the UK, appears to be associated with disease of the radial nerves, which causes diffi- culty in advancing the front feet. When made to move rapidly, they do so with a bounding gait. The condition is seen in ewes during lactation; it normally resolves after weaning. Kaolin (China Clay) Kaolin (China Clay) is a native aluminium silicate, which is used as a protective and astrin- gent dry dusting powder. Kaolin is sometimes given internally as an adsorbent in intestinal disorders. Mixed into a paste with glycerine and some antiseptic, it is applied as a poultice to acute sprains of tendons, etc. Karyotype This is, roughly speaking, a plan showing an animal’s chromosomes. In technical terms, a karyotype is a presentation of the metaphase chromosomes characteristic of an individual animal or species. ( See CYTOGENETICS .) ‘Kebbing’ (see ABORTION, ENZOOTIC, OF EWES) Ked Melophagus ovinus, the sheep ked, is wingless, and lives on the wool and skin of the sheep. It is much larger than any of the lice, being 0.6 cm ( 1 ⁄ 4 inch) long. It can easily be distin- guished from the ticks by its tripartite body. It is a dark brown colour with a sharp biting pro- boscis. The nearly mature larvae are laid on the wool and they at once pupate. The pupa may remain in the wool or fall to the ground. The young hatch in 19 to 24 days, and the females start to deposit larvae in 12 to 23 days after emergence, and lay a larva every 9 days. The fly can live for about 12 days away from the sheep, while the pupa can live for 6 weeks on the ground. The whole life-cycle may be completed on the sheep within 1 month. The sheep ked can cause severe anaemia if present in large numbers, and also leads to a damaged fleece. Shearing aids control, which is achieved by means of a sheep dip. The ked may attack men while shearing and inflict a very painful bite. K Melophagus × 4. Keeshond A medium-sized breed of dog, originally from Flanders, with a very thick coat, fox-like face and a tail that curls over the back. It is prone to hip dysplasia. The incidence of tetralogy of Fallot (a potentially fatal heart defect) in the breed is 1 in 10,000 births, the highest known in any animal. Kemps Coarse hairs, the presence of which reduces the value of a fleece. Kennel Cough Kennel cough is a convenient term for those outbreaks of respiratory disease, distinct from canine distemper, which are troublesome in boarding kennels and dog pounds. Other names are canine infectious tracheobronchitis and bordetellosis. Usually only the upper air passages are involved in kennel cough, the chief symptom being a fit of coughing which is aggravated by exercise or excitement. The cough is a harsh, dry one. It has to be differentiated from infestation with TRACHEAL WORMS. Causes Bordetella bronchiseptica is the princi- pal cause (hence the name bordetellosis). Other organisms involved are the canine parain- fluenza virus (CPI), a canine herpesvirus, two adenoviruses, a reovirus, and a mycoplasma. Bacterial secondary invaders may complicate the syndrome. Prevention Vaccination is advisable a fort- night before a dog is taken to a show or left in boarding kennels. An intranasal live B. bron- chiseptica vaccine is available. Kennel Lameness A colloquial term for lameness arising from a nutritional deficiency, such as may occur in a dog fed entirely on dog-biscuits. ( See RICKETS.) Kennel Sickness A colloquial name used in the USA for out- breaks of salmonellosis, the symptoms of which may include pneumonia and convulsions. ( See also under SALMONELLOSIS .) Keratin Keratin is the substance of which horn and the surface layers of the skin are composed. It is a modified form of skin which has undergone compression and toughening. It is present in the hoof of the feet of animals, in claws, horns, and nails. Keratitis Inflammation of the cornea. (See EYE, DISEASES OF .) Keratocoele Keratocoele is a hernia through the cornea. ( See EYE, DISEASES OF.) Keratoma Keratoma is a horn tumour affecting the inner aspect of the wall of the hoof. Kerosene Poisoning (see PARAFFIN) Kerry Blue Terrier A medium-sized dog, born with a black coat that gradually lightens to grey, and an upright tail. It is predisposed to cerebellar abiotrophy, a degeneration in the cerebellum, that manifests as ataxia. Ketamine Ketamine is a non-barbiturate, non-narcotic anaesthetic. It can be administered by intra- venous, intramusuclar or subcutaneous injec- tion and is used in various species including cat, dog and horse. Ketamine is often used in con- junction with other agents, such as xylazine, medetomidine and detomidine, to improve muscle relaxation during surgical procedures. Ketoconazole An antifungal compound used to treat systemic candidiasis and ringworm in dogs and cats. It is administered orally. Ketone Bodies Ketone bodies arise from acetyl coenzyme A. The 3 main ketone bodies are acetone, acetoac- etate and beta hydroxybutyrate. While acetone is not part of the metabolic process in the healthy animal, the others are involved in the energy metabolism of ruminants. If the diet provides insufficient energy sources in the dia- betic, excess ketone bodies arise, producing ketosis (acetonaemia). Professor Sir Hans Krebs describes the process thus: ‘The severe forms of ketosis of the diabetic coma or of the lactating cow are connected with the high rates of gluco- neogenesis which occur under these conditions. Oxaloacetate, which is an intermediate in glu- coneogenesis, is diverted from the tricarboxylic acid cycle to gluconeogenesis, owing to the high activity of the enzyme converting it to phos- phopyruvate. The liver compensates the loss of energy from a reduced rate of the tricarboxylic acid cycle by an increased rate of oxidations 388 Keeshond K outside the cycle. The main reaction of this type is the oxidation of fatty acids to ketone bodies. These arise grossly in excess of needs, as a by-product of reactions which satisfy the requirements for energy.’ Ketonuria is the term applied to the presence of ketone bodies in the urine. ( See also ACETON- AEMIA .) Ketoacidosis. A condition leading to diabetic coma. ( See DIABETES .) Ketosis (see ACETONAEMIA ) Key-Gaskell Syndrome (see FELINE DYSAUTONOMIA ) Khat This plant (Catha edulis) contains 2 compounds – cathine and cathinone – which are both structurally related to amphetamine. Chewing of khat leaves, popular in Arabia and East Africa, appears to be on the increase in the UK. Addicts esteem khat for the euphoria and extra energy which it provides, but over-use can lead to mental illness. Veterinary surgeons in small-animal practice will need to be on the lookout for cases of khat poisoning in dogs and cats – as they already are for the effects of CANNABIS. Kicking (see ‘VICES’ ) Kidney Worm (Stephanurus Dentatus) Kidney worm (stephanurus dentatus) is a para- site of pigs. Affected animals fail to thrive. Occasionally migration of the larvae in the spinal canal causes some degree of paralysis. The intermediate host is the earthworm. In the USA the advice is to breed from gilts only, as a means of eradicating the parasite – anthelmintics so far not having proved effective. (For the kidney worm of dogs, see DIOCTOPHYMOSIS.) Kidneys Kidneys are paired organs situated high up against the roof of the abdomen, and in most animals lying one on either side of the spinal column. Horse The kidneys of the horse differ from each other in both shape and position. The right has the outline of a playing-card heart, and lies under the last 2 or 3 ribs and the transverse process of the first lumbar vertebra, while the left is roughly bean-shaped and lies under the last rib and the first 2 or 3 lumbar transverse processes. They are held in place by the surrounding organs and by fibrous tissue, called the renal fascia. Each of them moves slightly backwards and forwards during the respiratory movements of the animal. Cattle The kidneys are lobulated, each pos- sessing from 20 to 25 lobes separated by fissures filled with fat in the living animal. The right kidney lies below the last rib and the first 2 or 3 lumbar transverse processes, and is somewhat elliptical in outline. The left occupies a variable position. When the rumen is full, it pushes the left kidney over to the right side of the body into a position slightly below and behind the right organ, but when it is empty the left kidney lies underneath the vertebral column about the level of the third to the fifth lumbar vertebra. It may lie partly on the left side of the body in this position in some cases. Sheep In the sheep the kidneys are bean- shaped and smooth. In position they resemble those of the ox, except that the right is usually a little farther back. Pig In this animal the kidneys are shaped like elongated beans, and they are placed almost symmetrically on either side of the bodies of the first 4 lumbar vertebrae. They sometimes vary in position. Dogs and cats In these animals the kidneys are again bean-shaped, but they are thicker than in other animals, and relatively larger. As in most animals, the right kidney is placed farther forward than the left, the latter varying in position according to the degree of fullness of the digestive organs. In the cat the left kidney is very loosely attached and can usually be felt as a rounded mass which is quite movable in the anterior part of the abdominal cavity. Birds have paired kidneys, seen as elongated brown organs closely attached on each side of the vertebrae. Fish have a single kidney which is seen in salmonids as a long black strucure in the dorsal part of the abdomen extending from the back of the head to the vent. The vena cava runs through the centre of the organ. The kidney also has a role in the development of blood cells and in combating infection. Kidneys 389 K Structure The organ is enveloped in a fibrous coat continuous with the rest of the peritoneal membrane, and attached to the kidney capsule. This capsule does not permit of much swelling or enlargement of the organ, and consequently any inflammation of the kidney is attended with much pain. On the inner border there is an indentation called the hilus, which acts as a place of entrance and exit for vessels, nerves, etc. Entering each kidney at its hilus are a renal artery and renal nerves; leaving the kidney are renal vein or veins, lymphatics, and the ureter. If the kidney is cut across, there are 2 distinct areas seen in its substance. Lying outermost is the reddish-brown granular cortex, which contains small dark spots known as Malpighian corpuscles. Within the cortex is the medulla, an area pre- senting a radiated appearance, whose periphery is of a deep red colour. The kidney tissue contains many thousands of filtration units called nephrons. Each of these comprises the glomerulus (almost a spherical arrangement of capillaries on an arteriole); Bowman’s capsule, the blind end of a proximal tubule which expands so as almost to surround the glomerulus; the convoluted tubule itself (with its loop of Henle); and the distal convo- luted tubule which leads on to an arched collecting tubule. The latter continues with a straight tubule in the cortex of the kidney, and on into the medulla, where papillary ducts are formed to take the urine to the pelvis of the kidney. The Malpighian corpuscle, comprising the glomerulus and inner and outer layers of Bowman’s capsule, is where most of the filtra- tion of fluid from the blood occurs; but only a small percentage of this fluid is finally excreted as urine. In birds, the glomeruli are of 2 different kinds; 1 type is similar to mammalian glomeruli; the other is more akin to the type found in reptiles. Function The kidney’s 2 main functions are:first, the excretion of waste (and excess) materials from the bloodstream; and, second, the maintenance of the correct proportions of water in the blood, the correct levels of its chemical constituents, and the correct pH. ( See HOMEOSTASIS.) Blood pressure in the arteries determines pressure in each glomerulus and has an impor- tant bearing on the quantity of fluid filtered from the blood. For its controlling effect on the kidney, see ANTIDIURETIC HORMONE . The proximal tubules reabsorb a high per- centage of the water, sodium chloride and bicar- bonate. The distal tubules reabsorb sodium, or exchange sodium ions for hydrogen, potassium or ammonium ions; determining thereby the pH of the urine. The kidney also secretes the hormone erythropoietin ( see under ERYTHROPOIESIS) and produces RENIN. Additionally, the kidney converts vitamin D1 into its active form. Kidneys, Diseases of These are particularly common in the dog, and must account for a high proportion of deaths in dogs and cats. Exact diagnosis is based almost entirely upon macroscopic, microscopic, and chemical exam- ination of the urine in the laboratory. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine con- centrations are used to evaluate renal function in several species. Nephrosis/nephrotic syndrome This may be a stage in nephritis and involves damage to the tubules of the kidneys, resulting in defec- tive filtering, so that albumin is excreted in the urine to the detriment of albumin levels in the blood. Oedema occurs. Nephrosis may be caused by poisoning with the salts of heavy metals, and with various tox- ins; or it may follow certain other diseases. In lambs, clostridial infections have been suggest- ed as a cause of the disease, while nematodirus infestation may be responsible in older animals. ( See also MEMBRANOUS NEPHROPATHY.) Acute nephritis is a rapid inflammation of the kidney tissues as a whole, or of the glomeruli and the secreting tubules only. The latter is much the more common among all animals. Since the diagnosis and symptoms of each are clinically the same, and as their differentiation is only possible by microscopic examination after death it will suffice to describe the commoner type only. Dogs Acute and subacute nephritis is often associated with LEPTOSPIROSIS, especially with Leptospira canicola infection; it may follow the nephrotic syndrome, and may co-exist with dis- temper or canine viral hepatitis. A predisposing cause is often, it seems, exposure to cold, wet conditions, which lower the animal’s resistance and so exacerbates any existing infection. Signs may include depression, loss of appetite, thirst, vomiting. The back may be arched, and there may be stiffness. There is fever, and some- times ulcers are present in the mouth. 390 Kidneys, Diseases of K Lambs Acute kidney failure was diagnosed by clinical examination and autopsy in 39 flocks served by 6 veterinary investigation centres. Forty-eight lambs of 12 different breeds or crosses were investigated. The mean age of affected lambs was 38 days; 21 lambs were aged 7 to 28 days, while only 8 were older than 2 months. Mortality in clinically affected lambs was almost 100 per cent, with no response to various treatments. First-aid The animal needs rest, warmth, and light food. Reliable proprietary foods can be obtained for kidney disease cases. Barley water instead of plain water is often advisable. ( See under NURSING .) Treatment includes the use of antibiotics. If there is much vomiting, normal saline may be necessary. Chronic nephritis may follow the acute form, or it may arise insidiously. One attack of nephritis is always likely to render the dog more susceptible to subsequent attacks, and chronic nephritis is common in middle-aged and old dogs. In some cases of this disease RUBBER JAW may be present. Sometimes, despite treatment, kidney failure occurs. Kidney failure may follow either chronic interstitial nephritis (involving some degree of fibrosis), which often results from leptospiral nephritis; or from glomerular disease (glomeru- lonephritis). Clinically, the 2 conditions are virtually indistinguishable. Cattle Kidney disease may also be associated with LEPTOSPIROSIS, and may be a sequel to various other infections. Corynebacterium renale attacks the kidneys, and abscesses of these organs are not uncommonly found in cattle. (See also pyelitis and pyelonephritis below.) Some poisons may damage the kidneys. Symptoms in cattle include stiffness, an arched back, often the passing of small amounts of blood-stained urine, a poor appetite. Rumination may cease. However, in non-acute cases symptoms may not be noticed, and the existence of nephritis discovered only after death. A survey carried out at a Dublin abattoir showed that of 4166 cattle, 4.2 per cent had kidneys rejected under EU export regulations. The rejection rate was 7.7, 1.7, 2.2, and 28 per cent for cows, bul- locks, heifers and bulls, respec-tively; the most common reason being focal interstitial nephri- tis (60 per cent). Other lesions included cysts (26 per cent), pyelonephritis, pigmentation, amyloidosis, and glomerulonephritis. Horses Nephritis may be a complication of influenza and other infections; follow contusions (arising from blows, falls) in the lumbar region; or follow feeding with mouldy or otherwise con- taminated fodder. (See also pyelonephritis below.) In the horse, symptoms of kidney disease may be somewhat vague, but in severe cases there is usually evidence of pain, stiffness in the gait, a poor appetite, often fever, and urine is passed as described above for cattle. Oedema may involve abdomen, chest, and legs. Cats Kidney disease is, generally speaking, likely to result in a poor appetite, loss of weight, dullness, thirst. Intermittent vomiting may occur. The cat may become pot-bellied, due to ASCITES. A cat with chronic nephritis may live to old age, seemingly still able to enjoy life. There is likely to come a time, however, when the kidneys fail, and uraemia occurs. If a cat is losing protein in its urine, the need is for a high-protein diet; but with chronic nephritis, a low-protein diet is usually indicated. A number of specially formulated proprietary diets are available. ( See PRESCRIPTION DIETS.) B vitamins and diuretics are used in treating the nephrotic syndrome. Other animals Causes, symptoms, and treatment (antibiotics, sometimes diuretics) are in general similar. Vomiting may occur in the pig. ( See also AVIAN NEPHRITIS.) Polycystic kidneys A congenital renal problem in which the kidney is enlarged and contains multiple fluid filled cysts. The condi- tion, which has been recorded in pigs, is sporadic and does not usually cause illness. Purulent nephritis, or ‘suppurative nephri- tis’, is a condition in which one or both kidneys show abscess formation. All species may be affected. It is caused by pus-producing (pyo- genic) organisms, which may gain access to the kidneys either by the bloodstream – when the term ‘pyaemic nephritis’ is used – or by the ureters from the bladder – when the condition is pyelonephritis. Pyelitis, meaning pus in the pelvis of the kidney, is used to indicate abscess forma- tion in the pelvis only, and generally precedes the more severe form of pyelonephritis. It may be associated with stone formation (renal calculus). Pyelonephritis is generally preceded by an attack of inflammation of the bladder, vagina, or uterus. It is commonest in cows and mares after parturition when the genital tract has become septic, but it is seen in all females under Kidneys, Diseases of 391 K similar circumstances. It is not so common in male animals. Generally only 1 kidney is affect- ed, and the animal exhibits pain when turned sharply to the affected side, and tenderness when that side is handled. Pyelitis shows symptoms that are practically the same as those of pyelonephritis, except when due to renal calculus. In such cases it causes an obscure form of colic, and small amounts of blood-stained urine are passed at frequent intervals. Stone in the kidney A calculus or stone may sometimes form in the pelvis of the kidney as the result of the gradual deposition of salts from the urine around some particle of matter that acts as a nucleus. ( See UROLITHIASIS ; CALCULI.) Parasites of the kidney include Dioctophyma in the dog, and occasionally Eustrongylus gigas in horses, dogs, and cattle; the larvae of Strongylus vulgaris in colts, Stephanurus dentatus in pigs, and the cystic stages of certain tapeworms in the ruminants. ( See also DIOCTOPHYMOSIS; LEPTOSPIROSIS.) Tumours of the kidney include carcino- ma (mainly in dogs and cattle) and the usually benign nephroblastoma in pigs, puppies and calves. In cats lymphosarcoma of the kidney is common. Hydronephrosis In this condition the kidney may enlarge, owing to an obstruction. ( See HYDRONEPHROSIS.) Injuries of the kidney are not common, owing to the great protection that the lumbar muscles provide. They may be lacerated or bruised as the result of traffic accidents in the dog. Slips or falls in the hunting field may cause similar injuries in horses. The kidney may be shattered and death from internal haemorrhage occurs, or in less severe cases the haemorrhage takes place below the capsule and the blood is passed in the urine. If only 1 kidney is affected, and provided the bleeding is not great, the other hypertrophies and acts for both. Kilopascal (KpA) The unit used to quantify vacuum pressure in milking machines. Kimberley Horse Disease (Walkabout Disease) Kimberley horse disease (walkabout disease) occurs in the Kimberley district of Western Australia, and has a seasonal incidence – January to April (i.e. ‘wet season’). Horses of all ages are susceptible. Cause Whitewood (Atalaya hemiglauca) taken voluntarily or fed when food is scarce. Signs Anorexia, dullness, wasting, irritability, biting other horses, and gnawing at posts. Yawning is a marked and almost constant sign. Then muscular spasms lead to a phase of mad galloping in which the horse has no sense of direction and is uncontrollable. Gallops become more frequent but less violent, and gradually merge into the walking stage – slow, staggering gait, with low, stiff carriage of the head. The horse may walk about for hours, with a mouthful of unchewed grass protruding from its lips. ( See also BIRDSVILLE DISEASE .) ‘Kinky-Back‘ The colloquial name for a condition in broiler chickens involving distortion of the 6th tho- racic vertebra. It is the cause of lameness and sometimes paraplegia. It appears to be of hered- itary origin, perhaps influenced by growth-rate. Kirschner-Ehmer Splint Used in treating fractures in the dog and cat. It has transverse pins which are driven into parts of a long bone on either side of the fracture, and which are then held in position by an external clamp. ‘Kitchen Deaths’ Kitchen deaths in small caged birds can result from overheated utensils, particularly frying pans, which have non-stick coatings of polyte- trafluoroethylene (PTFE), or from acrolein or other vapours associated with cooking oils, or from carbon monoxide poisoning from improperly ventilated heaters. PTFE fumes cause acute pneumonitis with haemorrhages and death in small caged birds ( see CARBON MONOXIDE ; ‘FRYING PAN’ DEATHS). In 9 incidents of bird deaths involving 1 to 18 birds investigated by Penrith Veterinary Investigation Centre, 3 cases were due to PTFE poisoning, 3 to cooking oil vapours, 1 to car- bon monoxide and in 2 cases there were no obvious causes found. Kittens The young of cats (and rabbits). Causes of death in kittens A Glasgow veterinary-school study of the cause of death in 274 kittens showed that 55 per cent died from 392 Kilopascal (KpA) K infectious diseases, 33 per cent from unknown causes and 5 per cent from congenital defects. Feline parvovirus caused 25 per cent of all deaths. Klebsiella. A genus of gram-negative bacteria. It has been suggested that K. pneumoniae may be an impor- tant cause of infertility in the thoroughbred mare, but see EQUINE GENITAL INFECTIONS. Cattle The infection is occasionally the cause of mastitis and osteomyelitis; also pulmonary lesions. Dog The infection may cause illness clinically indistinguishable from distemper, and may therefore account for some of the suspected ‘breakdowns’ following the use of distemper vaccines. Sows The infection may result in acute masti- tis. Both piglets and sow may die. Klein’s Disease (see FOWL TYPHOID ) Knackers A place for the disposal of animals unfit for human consumption, and ill or recently dead animals. Many of the tissues can be recycled, for a variety of purposes. Knee Knee is the name, wrongly applied, to the car- pus of the horse, ox, sheep, and pig. This joint really corresponds to the human wrist and should not be called ‘knee’, but custom has ordained otherwise. ( See JOINTS.) Knocked-Up Shoe Knocked-up shoe is one in which the inner branch is hammered laterally so as to increase its height but decrease its width. There is 1 nail- hole at the inside toe, and 4 or 5 along the outside branch. The shoe generally has a clip at the toe and the outside quarter, and may have a small calkin on the outside heel. It is used for horses given to brushing, cutting, or interfering with their hind feet. Knocked-Up Toe A term used in racing greyhound circles to describe a type of lameness associated with the digits. It sometimes yields to rest but may require surgical treatment (even amputation of the 3rd phalanx). Knuckling Knuckling of fetlock simply means that the fet- lock joints are kept slightly flexed forwards above the hoof, instead of remaining extended. It may result from a number of causes: genetics, positioning of the fetus in the uterus, etc. Knuckling of the fetlocks in calves of the Jersey, Ayrshire, and Friesian breeds is an inher- ited defect which can sometimes be corrected by a minor surgical operation. Occasionally foals are born with their fet- locks knuckled, but, like many other deformi- ties of a similar nature, the condition gradually disappears as the muscles of the young animal obtain their proper control of the joints which they actuate. In older horses, the 2 chief condi- tions that are responsible for knuckling are: (l) thickening and contraction of the tendons or ligaments behind the cannon; and (2) chronic foot lameness, such as is produced by ring- bones, navicular disease, chronic corns, etc. The horse assumes the position of partial flexion of the fetlock, apparently in order to ease the pain he feels; as the result of the relaxation of the tendons, shortening occurs, and it finally becomes impossible to straighten out the joint. (NB. For descriptive purposes the word ‘flexion’ here means a bending backwards of the lower section of the limb from the fetlock joint – the cannon remaining stationary. Otherwise confusion between ‘flexion’ and ‘extension’ of the fetlock might occur.) Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) The koala bear is an arboreal, marsupial creature, a native of Australia. It is prone to chlamydial infections which can cause blindness and infertility. Kudu, Greater (Tragelaphus Strepsiceros) An antelope with long spiral horns. One of these creatures died in the London Zoo in 1992 from a scrapie-like spongiform encephalopathy. Kuppfer’s Cells Phagocytic cells lining the walls of sinusoids in the liver. Kuru A spongiform encephalopathy of humans, described in Papua New Guinea. It was trasmit- ted by ritual cannibalism. Men ate the victims’ muscles and heart while women and children ate the brain and other organs. 154 clinical cases occurred as a result of eating a single infected body. Although affected women did not produce affected infants, and the practice Kuru 393 K was outlawed in the 1950s, occasional cases still occur in the tribe that used to practise this ceremonial. ‘Kuru’ translates as ‘trembling with fear’. Kyasanur Forest Fever Kyasanur forest fever is a disease of man and monkeys, occurring in Mysore, and resembling Omsk fever. The causal virus is transmitted by the tick Haemaphysalis spinigera, and believed to have been brought by birds from the former Soviet Union. Kyphosis Kyphosis is a curvature of the spine when the concavity of the curve is directed downwards. It is sometimes seen in tetanus, rabies, etc., and is a sign of abdominal pain in the dog. 394 Kyasanur Forest Fever K . dip. The ked may attack men while shearing and inflict a very painful bite. K Melophagus × 4. Keeshond A medium-sized breed of dog, originally from Flanders, with a very thick coat, fox-like face and. both. Kilopascal (KpA) The unit used to quantify vacuum pressure in milking machines. Kimberley Horse Disease (Walkabout Disease) Kimberley horse disease (walkabout disease) occurs in the Kimberley. death in kittens A Glasgow veterinary- school study of the cause of death in 274 kittens showed that 55 per cent died from 392 Kilopascal (KpA) K infectious diseases, 33 per cent from unknown causes