Cow Anal is the prolapse of anal tissue into the rectum due to strain during defecation. However, it may also result from weak support for rectal tissue within the pelvis or diseases that cause tenesmus such as coccidiosis, salmonellosis, rumen impaction or some forms of urolithiasis, or be caused by other medical issues like bloat and volvulus in weaned lambs and cattle; while in pigs it may be caused by intestinal diseases as a result of diarrhea as well as genetic predisposition; poor feeding practices, diet stress or management practices all playing roles.
Surgery should always be considered for an anal prolapse, though non-invasive solutions such as using a rubber washing up glove to exert pressure can sometimes help shrink and return tissue back into place, however this usually has no lasting impact. Once reduced a purse string suture may be used to secure it back in its position however this only acts as a short term fix and won’t prevent future prolapses from reoccurring.
To assess the repeatability of rectal temperature measurements, multiple readings were taken before and after defecation with a digital thermometer for each animal before defecation using multiple measurements taken prior and post defecation using 4 different thermometers to evaluate mean and standard deviation readings as well as intra and interinvestigator reliability. Also evaluated was penetration depth into rectum tissues using different thermometers in comparison to measured body temperatures after defecation as well as effects of defecation on measured body temperatures as a whole.