Abstract
Mastitis is the most costly disease to the dairy industry. In addition to the losses in the economic and productive context, it also determines significant impairment in animal welfare. Mechanical milking systems have been developed in order to maximize the process in terms of time and volume of milk, however, this mechanization contributes to the impairment of health of the mammary gland, not respecting the teat physiology, resulting in anatomical and functional changes. Being considered the first barrier against mastitis pathogens, teat-end morphological changes induce a higher risk of new intramammary infections. Thus, the dairy industry has not been able to develop a mechanical system that allows efficient milking without resulting in teat-end injuries. Currently, the teat-end anatomical changes are studied mainly by B-mode ultrasonography, however, specific information about the vascular architecture, hemodynamic parameters and the degree of elasticity of the teats have not yet been studied. Thus, functional aspects of the teats deserve to be elucidated in order to understand the pathogenesis of tissue changes and the increased risk of mastitis. Therefore, high production Holstein cows will be selected to identify and characterize, by B-mode, Doppler and, elastographic ultrasound, before and after milking, the interrelations between the morphological changes of cow's teat and mechanical milking process. (AU)
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