Liver Abnormalities in Cattle Effect of Liver Abscessation on Growth and Productivity of Cattle

The importance of the liver function cannot be understated relative to energy and nutrient metabolism and resultant cattle performance. By summarizing available data, the authors suggest that the presence of LA reduces ADG but has variable effects on DMI. Therefore, the presence of LA could alter the partitioning of ME intake, increasing the maintenance energy requirement and reducing the efficiency of energy for gain. Much of the data the authors evaluated are more than 30 years old. A preliminary analysis of published data suggests that high incidence of LA could increase maintenance energy requirements up to 4.8%. However, understanding the impact of LA on animal energetics and growth is limited by the fact that LA rates are mostly measured at slaughter, whereas liver abscess pathogenesis, and potential liver function disruption, may occur throughout an animal's life or the feeding period. New research should attempt to model the impact of LA on energy metabolism in a more controlled method where more information on animal type, diet formulation, and methods used to control LA is considered.