grunt test

grunt test

a clinical test in which a positive result is an audible grunt by the subject.

In cows the test is for traumatic reticuloperitonitis and can be conducted in several ways. The cow may be pinched over the withers by forcibly picking up a fold of skin. This causes a sharp depression of the back and pain resulting in a grunt. A second method is to lift sharply on a beam of wood held under the sternum behind the elbows. A third method is to punch the cow in the same spot and auscultate over the trachea.

In horses the test is for laryngeal hemiplegia. The subject is restrained against a wall so that it cannot jump away and a sharp, threatening gesture is made at the abdomen with a stick or crop.