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Vetdle Archive

Archive Case #171: Bovine Digital Dermatitis

Cattle veterinary case - Easy - August 21, 2026

Clinical Clues

  1. A dairy cow is lame and repeatedly shifts weight off one hind foot in the milking shed.
  2. The owner reports several cows are affected during the wet season.
  3. Inspection of the foot reveals a painful raw lesion at the back of the heel bulbs.
  4. The surface of the lesion is red, moist, and covered by hair-like projections.
  5. There is little hoof horn distortion compared with chronic white line disease.
  6. This contagious infectious dermatitis of dairy cattle is commonly called hairy heel wart.

Diagnosis

Bovine Digital Dermatitis

This case is most consistent with Bovine Digital Dermatitis because the cow has a classic painful heel lesion with herd spread in wet dairy conditions. The most important clues are the moist papilliform heel lesion and dairy herd pattern, which make sole ulceration less likely.

Learning review

Review the case evidence

Use the paired clues to explain how the evidence in this cattle case supports the provided diagnosis, Bovine Digital Dermatitis, then compare your reasoning with the case explanation.

Evidence checkpoints

Clues 1-2

  1. Clue 1: A dairy cow is lame and repeatedly shifts weight off one hind foot in the milking shed.
  2. Clue 2: The owner reports several cows are affected during the wet season.

Clues 3-4

  1. Clue 3: Inspection of the foot reveals a painful raw lesion at the back of the heel bulbs.
  2. Clue 4: The surface of the lesion is red, moist, and covered by hair-like projections.

Clues 5-6

  1. Clue 5: There is little hoof horn distortion compared with chronic white line disease.
  2. Clue 6: This contagious infectious dermatitis of dairy cattle is commonly called hairy heel wart.

Self-review prompts

  1. After clues 1-2, what evidence from this cattle case shaped your initial interpretation?
  2. When you compare clues 3-4 with clues 1-2, what changed in your reasoning about Bovine Digital Dermatitis?
  3. How do clues 5-6 align with the case explanation for Bovine Digital Dermatitis?

Educational Use

Vetdle archive cases are educational veterinary games for diagnostic reasoning practice. They do not provide veterinary advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional medical guidance.