Study on the Nephrolithiasis of Soft-shelled Turtle

• Main Authors: Chen Ai Yun, 陳靄雲
• Other Authors: Tsai S. S.
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2003
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/62750690293451506076

碩士 === 國立屏東科技大學 === 獸醫學系 === 91 === The purpose of this thesis was to make an attempt to catch on the relationships among nephrolithiasis of soft-shelled turtle and aging, lesion distribution, composition of nephrolith, blood chemistry, feed ingredient, and, try to find out some chemicals which have a curative effects on nephrolithiasis. The incidence of nephrolithiasis in the reared turtle aged 1, 2-4, or 5 years were up to 8%, 18%, and 39% respectively, which were much lower than their counterparts that suffered from illnesses and they might appear 13%, 46%, and 68% separately. Besides, the plasma uric acid and calcium of the ill groups were significantly higher ( P＜0.01) than those of the healthy opponents. Dietary crude protein and calcium contents of the breeding feed were significantly (P＜0.05) higher than those of the meat feed. These results corresponded to the higher incidence of nephrolithiasis in the breeding turtle and seemed to has some relations between the dietary ingredients and the nephrolith formation. The deposition of the calcium salt was found mainly in the renal tubular lumens. Occasionally, metastatic calcification could be recognized in the other organs such as lung, pulmonary artery, gall bladder and lacrimal glands. These salts revealed a positive reaction to alizarin red S staining, indicating that they contained calcium salts other than the calcium oxalate. The paraffin sections were studied after deparaffination in xylene, then iron-coated with energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) detectors for morphological and elemental analysis by scanning electron microscope (SEM). EDX results showed those niduses in the paraffin sections had major peaks of calcium and phosphorus, represented they were composed of apatite or brushite crystals. Based on the rectangular plates crystal morphology from SEM images, brushite component would be the tremendous possibility. Both solutions of Urotropin-plus (UT) and sodium bicarbonate (SB) in 0.1 and 0.4 M concentrations had dissolved for treatment of nephrolith for 2 hours in vitro and for 5 or 10 days (0.1M) in vivo. The results showed that 10-days-UT rout had much better effects( P＜0.05)than any other treatments. In conclusion, nephrolithiasis of the soft-shelled turtle was not uncommon and of an aging disease which had intimate relation to high protein and high calcium in the feed. Values of plasma uric acid were significantly higher in case of nephrolithiasis and could be used as a blood chemistry index of this disease. Brushite seemed to be the most likely crystal that found in the nidus, and it could be effectively dissolved by UT and SB or their metabolites both in vitro and in vivo.