Bloat (in CC amphib glossary)

[freves]

Someone else will have to add a definition (couldn't find one in the Wright and Whitaker book) because I don't have time at the moment. I thought that I would at least contribute the term though.
Chip

 

[Jennewt]

Bloat: a common symptom of illness in amphibians. Affected animals have obvious fluid retention and swelling of the body. The root cause is organ failure, usually subsequent to internal infection, dehydration, poor water quality, or other problem. For details, see [CC bloat article].

 

[Kal El]

Before I mention anything on bloat, I just want to say that this whole concept of producing a glossary is a great idea. It's an effective way to produce a spectrum of information :happy:

Bloat*: Physical symptoms include the inability to submerge (and thus floating), inflammation of the limbs/throat/abdomen region. Bloat is associated with damage of the kidneys which fail to function accordingly; resulting in the retention of fluid, hence the bloating. Bloat can result from environmetal factors such as high temperature and poor water quality. The symptoms of bloat can be inappropriately diagnosed, for instance, gravid females are mistakenly labeled as being bloated. A way to distinguish between a bloated and a gravid female is to see if the throat region is swollen.

*http://www.livingunderworld.org/amphibianArticles/article0001.shtml

Jay.

 

[Jennewt]

Hi Jay, the bloated newts that I've seen had no problems with floating, so I don't think floating is directly associated. And I've never heard that inflammation is involved in bloat. I think you may be confusing inflammation with swelling. There are more technical terms we could use, such as edema, but we're trying to keep this on a layman's level as much as possible, so I'd go with swelling.

Since we have an entire article on the subject of bloat, this definition can be brief and need not repeat information that the reader will get from the article. In the end, we have to end up with a single definition that will go into a list. Could you propose one that combines my definition plus whatever you think is essential to add?

 

[Kal El]

Ahh...touche Jennewt I think some part of me forgot the definition of 'glossary' and the idea of it being as succinct as possible.

The only thing that I would add is correlation between kidney damage/failure and bloating.

Jay.

 

[Kaysie]

The root cause is organ failure

She did.