Claw Lesions, Diseases, and Manifestations

White Line Lesions

Description: An infection of the claw that has entered through a split between the wall and the sole in front of the heel. Frequently, an abscess will develop in the heel and massive destruction of the joint and tendons occurs.As the laminar corium is damaged and produces inferior horn in the wall it can widen and weaken the white line as the horn grows out. The horn of the white line is the softest type of horn, making it relatively easy for fissures to form. If the fissures are deep enough, infection can occur, which may eventually work its way up to the coronary band and form a white-line abscess. The abscess breaks through at the coronary band whereas the white-line lesion found when trimming the sole might be very small.

Photos: ( as viewed in Zinpro Corp.'s Illustrated Handbook on Cattle Lameness)

http://www.vetmanual.org/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/90517.htm