Case report - Achondroplastic syndrome in a West African dwarf lamb

Abstract

A three week old, male, West African Dwarf (WAD) lamb presented with disproportionate hind limb was diagnosed of having achondroplastic syndrome by physical and radiological examination. Physical examination showed the right hind limb was deformed at the level of the tarsus, metatarsus and phalanges. Radiological examination showed that the tarsal bones were small and laterally compressed, while the lateral sesamoid bone was absent. The right metatarsal bones were rudimentary while the phalanges were only represented by soft tissue structure. The serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transarninase (ALT) were higher in the achondroplastic lamb than the normal flock mate used as control. Based on the radiographic findings, it was concluded that ectrodac tyly was the only feature of the achondroplastic syndrome in the lamb.

Keywords: achondroplastic syndrome, lamb, dwarf

African Journal of Biomedical Research Vol. 8(1) 2005: 67-69