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Topic:Autopsy
Autopsy in horses involves the systematic examination of a deceased horse to determine the cause of death and to study any disease or injury that may have been present. This process, also known as necropsy, is performed by veterinary pathologists and involves a thorough inspection of the horse's body, including external and internal organs. During an autopsy, tissue samples may be collected for histopathological analysis to identify any microscopic abnormalities. The findings from an autopsy can provide valuable insights into equine health issues, contributing to the understanding of disease processes, informing treatment strategies, and improving management practices. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, findings, and implications of autopsy in equine veterinary science.
Blind-end atresia coli in two foals. Blind-end atresia coli was observed in two genetically unrelated foals at about the same time and location. The two foals, one an Appaloosa and the other a Quarterhorse, were born 4 days apart on nearby but separate farms. The Appaloosa foal died after surgical anastomosis of the affected segments of the colon. The Quarterhorse foal was euthanized after the defect was found at laparotomy. Both foals were necropsied and representative tissues were examined histopathologically. Histopathologic results were unremarkable. No cause of the defects could be determined and the timing and geographical ...
Sudden death in training and racing Thoroughbred horses. We reviewed case records, necropsy reports, and histologic sections from 25 Thoroughbred racehorses that died suddenly at 3 Chicago racetracks. These were young horses ranging in age from 2 to 5 years. There were more females (n = 16) than males (n = 9), and the incidence of death increased slightly in the spring and summer. Twenty-one of the 25 horses died while racing or training. Only 8 of the 25 horses (32%) had lesions sufficient to account for the death. In 6 of those 8 cases, death was caused by massive thoracic or abdominal hemorrhage. The site or nature of the vascular defect in these...
Neostigmine methylsulfate delays gastric emptying of particulate markers in horses. Eight horses were allotted to 2 groups, each of 4 horses. All horses were given 100 plastic markers intragastrically via a nasogastric tube. One group of animals (control group) was not given medication after marker administration. The other group (test group) was given neostigmine methylsulfate (0.022 mg/kg of body weight) in the subcutaneous tissue at the time of marker administration and 30, 60, and 90 minutes later. All horses were killed 135 minutes after marker administration to locate the beads in the gastrointestinal tract. Gastric emptying of the markers was significantly delayed (P l...
Clinicopathological features of lymphosarcoma involving the thoracic cavity in the horse. The clinical and post mortem features of 11 cases of lymphosarcoma involving the thoracic cavity are reviewed. The clinical findings included inappetence, weight loss, pectoral oedema, dyspnoea, pleural effusion and distension of the jugular veins. Dysphagia was present in three cases. At post mortem examination lesions were found in the abdomen as well as the chest in eight cases; clinical signs of abdominal disease were present in two cases. The features of nine other similar cases recorded in the literature are reviewed.
Traumatic gastropericarditis in a horse. An ingested metallic foreign body migrated from the stomach and induced restrictive pericarditis in a horse. Necropsy revealed chronic abdominal and acute thoracic lesions. Although rare, ingested foreign body migration should be considered in the differential diagnosis of body cavity disease in horses.
Comparison of echocardiographic and autopsy measurements of cardiac dimensions in the horse. This study was initiated to determine the accuracy of M-mode echocardiography in measuring left ventricular dimensions and estimating heart weights in horses. Left ventricular free wall and interventricular septal thickness and left ventricular external and internal diameters were measured and heart weights estimated from the echocardiograms of 47 horses. Autopsy measurements of the same parameters were then recorded. Statistical comparison of the data demonstrated: (1) Systolic measurements of wall thickness more closely resembled the heart in death than the diastolic measurements; (2) good c...
Arterial thrombosis as the cause of lameness in a foal. A 3-day-old foal was examined because of forelimb lameness. Brachial artery occlusion was diagnosed. The foal was euthanatized. Necropsy revealed brachial artery thrombosis and an atrial septal defect.
Endocarditis in six horses. Six horses (five males) aged three months to fourteen years had endocarditis at necropsy. Two of the horses had a clinical diagnosis of valvular endocarditis with negative blood cultures. Single or complex valvular involvement was present in five horses. One horse had non-infectious thrombi associated only with the chordae tendineae. Mitral valves were affected in four horses, and aortic semilunar valves were affected in two. Infarcts had occurred in the kidneys and the myocardium of four horses. Bacteria were isolated postmortem from the valvular vegetations of two horses; Candida parapsilosi...
Common ventricle with separate pulmonary outflow chamber in a horse. On the basis of clinical and laboratory examinations, a ventricular septal defect or a variant of the tetralogy of Fallot was suspected in a 3-year-old filly with a history of poor growth rate and exercise intolerance. The filly was euthanatized and found to have a 3-chambered heart (cor triloculare biatriatum). The heart had 2 normally formed atria and a large common ventricle into which the right and left atrioventricular orifices opened and from which the aorta arose. There was a small separate chamber from which the pulmonary trunk originated. This chamber communicated with the common vent...
Bilateral laryngeal paralysis in the horse. Four two-year-old Thoroughbreds suffered an acute gastrointestinal illness shortly after dosing with mineral oil which was thought to have been contaminated with an organophosphate compound. Three weeks later all four were noted to be dyspnoeic and endoscopic examination showed that they had developed bilateral laryngeal paralysis. Two of the horses died during severe bouts of dyspnoea six and eight months later and the third was killed shortly thereafter. Examination of the left and right recurrent laryngeal nerves from these horses showed a severe loss of myelinated fibres distally, especial...
Parasites in lungs of dead equids in Kentucky: emphasis on Dictyocaulus arnfieldi. Prevalence of natural infections of parasites from the lungs of 488 dead Thoroughbreds in Kentucky was investigated. The horses varied from 1 to 32 years of age; 419 horses were from 215 farms and 69 horses were from 68 individual sources for which a specific farm was not identified. Examinations of the lungs were made from Mar 1, 1983 through Feb 29, 1984. Dictyocaulus arnfieldi was recovered from 56 (11%) of the horses. Other parasites found were larvae of Parascaris equorum in 37 (8%) and of Habronema/Draschia in 67 (14%) of the horses. The possible effect of ivermectin treatment on the pre...
Vertebral fracture, extensor hypertonia of thoracic limbs, and paralysis of pelvic limbs (Schiff-Sherrington syndrome) in an Arabian foal. An Arabian foal, which was recumbent for 4 days, had signs of extensor rigidity of the thoracic limbs and hypotonic paralysis of the pelvic limbs. Survey radiography revealed a lesion at T15, with radiographic impression of a compression fracture or a hemivertebra. Postmortem examination revealed a fracture at T15. Clinical and pathologic findings in this case were compatible with the Schiff-Sherrington syndrome, which is characterized by thoracic limb extensor hypertonia associated with paraplegia from acute thoracolumbar trauma.
Exsanguination due to gastric ulceration in a foal. An Arabian foal with a congenital heart disease died due to hemorrhage secondary to a large gastric ulcer. Previously, death of foals with gastric ulcers has been due to diffuse peritonitis resulting from gastric ulcer perforation. The foal in this case report died due to hemorrhage secondary to a large gastric ulcer.
Isolation, experimental transmission, and characterization of causative agent of Potomac horse fever. Potomac horse fever, a disease characterized by fever, anorexia, leukopenia, and occasional diarrhea, is fatal in approximately 30 percent of affected animals. The seasonal occurrence of the disease (June to October) and evidence of antibodies to the rickettsia Ehrlichia sennetsu in the serum of convalescing horses suggested that a related rickettsia might be the causative agent. Such an agent was isolated in cultured blood monocytes from an experimentally infected pony. This intracytoplasmic organism was adapted to growth in primary cultures of canine blood monocytes. A healthy pony inoculate...
[Extrahepatic cholestasis due to pancreas fibrosis in a trotter]. A trotter stallion showing symptoms of emaciation was suspected of disease of the liver associated with cholestasis in view of clinical symptoms (poor appetite, sluggishness, jaundice and oedema) and the results of examination of the blood (increased concentrations of gamma-glutamyl, transpeptidase, sorbitol dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase and markedly increased conjugated bilirubin). A specimen removed at biopsy of the liver revealed the presence of portal fibrosis and severe cholestasis. At autopsy, it was found that very extensive fibrosis of the pancreas (pr...
Spontaneous craniofacial malformations and central nervous system defects in an aborted equine foetus. Developmental defects are rarely reported in the horse. Severe craniofacial and central nervous system defects in an equine foetus are described and their possible causation and pathogenesis are suggested.
Thirteen cases of botulism in horses fed big bale silage. An outbreak of pharyngeal and limb paresis involving four horses and nine ponies in the south east of England is described. Nine of the animals died or were destroyed on humane grounds. The clinical features suggested a diagnosis of botulism and mouse innoculation tests confirmed the presence of type B toxin in the serum of one case. All animals were fed big bale silage. It is describe how, in plastic wrapped silage manufacture, conditions of fermentation may be inadequate to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulism. Examination of a sample of silage fed to the affected horses suggested that...
Dirofilariasis with arteriosclerosis in a horse. Arteriosclerosis caused by Dirofilaria immitis adult parasites was diagnosed in a 20-month-old Quarter horse stallion that died from cantharidin toxicosis. Microscopically, the pulmonary vascular changes were typical of those described as "proliferative endarteritis" in D immitis-infected dogs.
Radiological investigations of osteochondrosis dissecans in Standardbred Trotters and Swedish Warmblood horses. A total of 106 Standardbred Trotters and 27 Swedish Warmblood horses, with a radiological diagnosis of osteochondrosis dissecans, were studied over a six year period. The majority were young horses. No statistical difference in frequency between the sexes was demonstrated. In both breeds osteochondrosis was most common in the hock joints, the site of predilection being the distal dorsal tip of the intermediate tibial ridge. On radiographs the lesions of the hock joints were graded on a scale from 0 to 5 according to size, number and localisation of defects and visible loose bodies. The sizes o...
Observations on structure and function of the equine mitral valve. The anatomy of the equine mitral valve and certain variations observed in 60 adult horses are described. The functional role of this valve, sited between the left atrium and the high pressure-generating left ventricle, is discussed in relation to its anatomical structure. A method of examining the left side of the heart post mortem is described.
Hypoplastic left ventricular syndrome in a foal. A necropsy diagnosis of hypoplastic left ventricular syndrome was made in a day-old foal. The cardiac abnormalities included mitral and aortic valve atresia, patent ductus arteriosus, and a secundum atrial septal defect. The left ventricle was hypoplastic and nonfunctional. The brief survival of the foal was a consequence of left-to-right shunting through the atrial septal defect and right-to-left shunting through the patent ductus. The information is presented to demonstrate the existence of the syndrome as a congenital defect in the horse and to clarify the necropsy findings for the practiti...
Intracranial haemorrhage in pre-viable, premature and full term foals. A neuropathological examination was carried out on the brains of 58 foals. Forty-two were pony foals induced at various periods of gestation from 200 days onwards. Two were pre-viable pony foals delivered by caesarean section and 14 were Thoroughbred foals (one set of twins, two stillborn, five premature, two dysmature, two convulsive and one induced). The only significant pathological change involved intracranial haemorrhage. Subarachnoid haemorrhage occurred in all of 10 pony foals induced before 301 days of gestation and in two pony foals born by caesarean section at 270 and 280 days gestat...
Primary renal cell carcinoma in a horse. A case of primary renal cell carcinoma in a 16-year-old mare is reported. The main presenting signs of chronic weight loss and diarrhoea as well as the initial laboratory examination did not directly indicate renal involvement. Follow-up investigations were strongly suggestive of avain tuberculosis. Further laboratory investigation revealed neoplasia, which was confirmed at autopsy.
Toxic hepatopathy in neonatal foals. Six foals of three different breeds, born to healthy mares, appeared normal at birth, and died at two to five days of age with icterus, ataxia, head pressing, and terminal hepatic coma. Their livers were less than one-half normal weight. Most of the liver was dark red-brown and slightly rubbery. Histologically, these areas were characterized by severe bile ductule proliferation, mild portal tract fibrosis, and massive hepatocellular necrosis and lobular collapse. A small proportion of the liver, usually on the peripheral part of the lobes, was grossly light brown and slightly raised. Histologi...
Chronic chondritis of the arytenoid cartilages in a pony mare. The upper respiratory tract of a pony mare with marked exercise intolerance and respiratory stridor was examined with a flexible fibreoptoscope. Both arytenoids were adducted and distorted. A diagnosis of bilateral chondritis of the arytenoids was made and confirmed at autopsy after surgery to enlarge the rima glottidis was unsuccessful. Other space occupying lesions of the rima glottidis are discussed and theories on the aetiology are postulated.
Three cases of obstruction of the small colon by a foreign body. This report describes fatal obstruction of the small colon of three horses. The obstructions were caused by irregularly shaped enteroliths of which the centres contained a foreign body, namely a guy-rope, a piece of baling twine , and a fishing-line, respectively. The diagnosis was made by post-mortem examination.
Transfer of adult Strongylus vulgaris via stomach tube. Patent infections with Strongylus vulgaris were established in 6 of 8 helminth-free ponies given 41 to 101 adult worms via nasogastric tube. The parasites were removed from the cecum and ventral colon and transferred within 1 to 2 hours of the death of the donor horses. Eggs were found in the feces of the recipients in 2 or 3 days; egg counts reached maximum, 28 eggs per gram of feces, at 4 weeks after ponies were inoculated. In 6 ponies euthanatized 3 to 7 weeks after parasitic transfers were done, 28% of the inoculated worms were found alive at necropsy. A 7th pony was maintained as a donor ...
Effects of large doses of phenylbutazone administration to horses. The effects of large doses of phenylbutazone were evaluated in clinically normal horses. The drug was given to 4 groups of 2 horses each at the rate of 30 mg/kg of body weight, orally, or 30, 15, or 8 mg/kg IV daily for up to 2 weeks. All horses became anorectic and depressed after 2 to 4 phenylbutazone treatments, and the horses given 15 or 30 mg/kg died on or between days 4 and 7 of treatment. A decrease in total blood neutrophil count occurred in all horses, and was associated with toxic left shift in horses given the 2 larger dosage schedules. The horses also had progressive increases in s...
