PMC5070005_01
Photographs of Calf A: Picture a illustrating diffuse hyperhydration of the skin, Picture b "almond" shaped eyes and clouding of lens, Picture c linear fissures in the skin
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Fig1
The calf was non-responsive and appeared grossly abnormal, as the skin over the thorax and abdomen was moist (Fig. 1a). The orbital fissures were almond shaped with bilateral clouding of the cornea (Fig. 1b). The calf had thick folds of cervical skin and, on closer inspection, had multiple small fissures in the skin over large parts of the body, particularly over joints and the medial aspect of the hindlimbs (Fig. 1c).
d & e Calves A and B, respectively. Dermal collagen fibres are short, fine, fibrillated, fragmented, irregular, and present at a low density. There is mild hyperkeratosis and neutrophilic dermatitis. f Control calf. Collagen fibres are longer, thicker, densely packed, and regularly-oriented. H&E, 20x
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Fig2
Calf B exhibited similar, but less severe, changes (Figs. 2d; e).
Calf B: Electron Microscopy image of abnormal collagen fibrils. Longitudinal section of irregular, non-parallel and tangled, loosely woven, and occasionally fragmented fibrils with loss of their characteristic periodicity and banding pattern. Inset: Collagen fibrils from an aged matched control calf
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Fig3
Ultrastructurally, abnormal dermal collagen fibres of the haired skin of the back consisted of irregular fibrils arranged in loosely woven, twisted flat, and/or helical ribbons with irregularly spaced or lost transverse striations (Fig. 3).  