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.
Roberts MC, Kelly WR.A four-year-old thoroughbred was presented with clinical manifestations of purpura haemorrhagica. Evidence of renal involvement consistent with glomerulopathy and nephrotic syndrome, characterised by heavy proteinuria and azotaemia, became apparent and may have been exacerbated by diuretic therapy. Autopsy revealed membrano- and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis and chronic pleuritis. Circulating immune complexes may have been responsible for the renal diseases and the purpura.
King JM, Roth L, Haschek WM.Focal myocardial necrosis secondary to neural lesions was diagnosed in 2 dogs and 1 horse. In each case, the neural lesions were traumatic in origin. Spinal cord injury was evident in 1 dog; brain damage was evident in the other dog and presumably in the horse. Retrospective analysis of necropsy material showed that many species were affected, without apparent age or sex predisposition. Central nervous system injury resulting from trauma, infection or space-occupying lesions was associated with acute myocardial necrosis in all cases. The myocardial necrosis was rarely fatal; however, it did ca...
Mayhew IG.A technique for the subarachnoid perfusion-fixation of the central nervous system was developed to help identify various significant vascular accidents (SVAs) in the central nervous system (CNS) of 24 neonatal foals submitted for necropsy. SVAs, comprising subarachnoid, parenchymal and nerve root haemorrhages, and oedema and necrosis, occurred in 17 foals, more frequently in the spinal cord than the brain. They occurred as frequently in premature foals as in those born at full term, in foals born dead as in foals born alive, and in foals born following dystocia with an assisted delivery as in ...
Haschek WM, King JM, Tennant BC.Of 2 horses with renal cell carcinoma, 1 had massive ascites but no other signs of urinary tract disease; the other had hematuria. In both horses, the tumors were palpable as large perirenal masses. The tumor mass of horse 1 almost completely replaced the left kidney, and there were tumor implants on the serosa of abdominal organs. The right kidney of horse 2 was compressed peripherally by the tumor, which completely filled the renal pelvis. The prevalence of renal cell carcinoma in horses and dogs necropsied at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine between 1953 and 1976 was simila...
Raphel CF, Gunson DE.Percutaneous lung biopsies with a cutting needle (Vim Tru Cut) were obtained from 20 horses. The procedure was performed in standing horses under a local anesthesia without sedation. All lung tissue specimens were suitable for histologic examinations and contained both pulmonary parenchyma and large airways. The only complication was hemoptysis in 2 (10%) horses which required no therapy. All horses were subsequently killed, and no gross abnormalities were present at the biopsy site.
Malan FS, Reinecke RK, Scialdo RC.The entire gastro-intestinal tract and viscera of the abdomen and thorax, including the heart, aorta and its branches to the viscera, are removed from the carcass. All the branches of the aorta, with the exception of the A. gastrica sinistra, are dissected from the intestinal tract, and subsequently each branch is isolated from the mesentery, fat, pancreas, kidneys, etc. Usually, the A. ileocolica is grossly enlarged due to chronic arteritis with thrombus formation caused by 4th stage larvae, 4th moult and 5th stage Strongylus vulgaris. Descriptions of methods to examine the subperitoneal tiss...
Rose RJ, Hartley WJ, Baker W.Bilateral laryngeal paralysis is described in 5 Arabian and part-Arabian foals aged between 23 and 35 days. Tracheotomies resulted in complete relief of dyspnoea. Two cases showed recovery of abductor function of the right arytenoid cartilage after 3 weeks and one of these cases later recovered left abductor function. Four of the foals were autopsied at various times from one week to 6 months after the onset of respiratory obstruction. Histology of the recurrent laryngeal nerves showed active Wallerian degeneration and loss of nerve fibres in many fascicles in cases affected for one to 2 weeks...
Brownlow MA, Hutchins DR, Johnston KG.Twenty horses, aged one to 17 years (mean age 6 years), presented for elective destruction and subsequently found at autopsy to have no significant peritoneal alterations, were used to determine a variety of reference values for peritoneal fluid. Samples were collected ante mortem or within 1 h post mortem. Each cavity contained 100 to 300 ml of usually clear, pale yellow fluid which in a clinical refractometer showed a mean specific gravity 1.010 (range 1.0081-1.0116) and mean (+/- standard deviation) total protein 7.7 +/- 3.6 g/litre. The mean total nucleated cell count (+/- sd) was 4.33 +/-...
Mackay RJ, Iverson WO, Merritt AM.A 4-year-old stallion was examined because of a 2-month history of inappetance and weight loss. Diarrhoea had also developed a month before presentation. Abnormal clinical findings were emaciation, diarrhoea, ventral oedema, palpable mesenteric lymph node enlargement and a large mass in the left cranial portion of the abdomen. Significant laboratory findings were anaemia (packed cell volume 0.21 litres/litre), hypoalbuminaemia (16 g/litre) and xylose malabsorption. The horse was euthanased and at necropsy a 10.5 kg pendunculated mass composed of granulation tissue was found within and attached...
Franken P, van den Hoven R, Sasse HH, Koeman JP, Goedegebuure SD.The case of a three-year-old mare is reported, in which clinical examination revealed the presence of haemorrhagic diathesis as a result of disseminated intravascular coagulation. The animal also showed severe lameness which was due to involvement of the long bones. The diagnosis was only established after death.
Doige CE, McLaughlin BG.Hyperplastic goitre was observed in seven newborn foals. Several were weak at birth and died in the first 48 hours of life. Only one foal had myxedema and only three of the seven had obvious enlargement of the thyroid at necropsy. It is suggested that the goitre observed was caused by a dietary deficiency of iodine.
Roberts MC, O'Boyle DA.Over a 3-year period, 1178 faecal samples were cultured from 462 horses admitted to the equine clinic of the University of Queensland; 185 samples were positive for salmonella yielding 213 isolations consisting of 21 serotypes. S. anatum was the predominant serotype isolated (54%) followed by S. ohio (11.27%) and S. typhimurium (9.4%). One hundred and ten horses (23.81%) were positive on one or more occasion, and 42 (9.09%) on more than one occasion. S. anatum was the most common serotype isolated (71.43%) from the main drains in the stable block (33.57% positive samples). The prevalence of sa...
Baker JR, Ellis CE.The causes of death recorded in 480 consecutive post mortem examinations of horses performed at the department of pathology, Veterinary Field Station, University of Liverpool, between February 1958 and February 1980, are reported. The alimentary, locomotor and nervous systems were those most frequently diseased. The most common specific entities were those associated with grass sickness, fractures and endoparasitism.
Cranley JJ, McCullagh KG.The hearts and aortas of 2076 unselected horses of all ages were examined immediately after slaughter. Focal zones of fibrosis, observed in the myocardium of 14.3 per cent of hearts examined, were found in both atria and ventricles and were unrelated to age. Microscopically the majority of lesions involved myocardial fibre lysis and replacement fibrosis, although acute infarction was present in some cases. Intramyocardial arterioles in or adjacent to the lesions exhibited occlusive arteriosclerotic changes whereas those elsewhere remained patent. The evidence strongly suggests that the myocard...
Sheahan BJ, Atkins GJ, Russell RJ, O'Connor JP.Two aged mares with histiolymphocytic lymphosarcoma had multiple rapidly proliferating tumours in the subcutis. Consistent haematological changes were absent. One mare had lymph node involvement but no neoplastic lesions in the viscera. Microbiological examination of tumour tissue showed coryneform bacteria; there was no evidence of C-type or lytic viruses or of reverse transcriptase. Prominent intramitochondrial crystalline inclusions were in histiocytic tumour cells.
Swerczek TW.Toxicoinfectious botulism was proved to be the cause of a neuromuscular paralytic syndrome in foals and adult horses. In eight successive cases, Clostridium botulinum type B was isolated at necropsy. Foals were either found dead without premonitory signs of illness or, most often, they had signs of progressive and symmetric motor paralysis. Stilted gait, muscular tremors, and the inability to stand longer than 4 to 5 minutes were the salient clinical signs. Other clinical manifestations included dysphagia, constipation, mydriasis, and frequent urination. As the disease progressed, dyspnea with...
Vibe-Petersen G, Nielsen K.Based upon case reports from 36 cases of verminous thrombosis of arteria mesenterica cranialis--all of which were verified at necropsy--clinical symptoms, course and pathological lesions are described. Seventy five per cent of the patients were under 3 years old, and 73% of the cases showed initial signs during the period July-December. Salient clinical findings were, unthrifty appearance and emaciation, diarrhoea--observed in two thirds of the patients--and colic--observed in 50 per cent of the cases. Haematological and biochemical findings were inconclusive, yet, hypoproteinaemia was a rathe...
Reynolds BL, Stedham MA, Lawrence JM, Heltsley JR.A space-occupying intracranial mass was diagnosed in a horse. The clinical findings included blindness, circling to the right, apprehension, anorexia, weight loss, and leaning against the stall. On ophthalmoscopic examination, the most striking observation was complete bilateral devascularization of the retinas. The horse was euthanatized and necropsied. Necroscopy revealed the mass to occupy the olfactory and frontal areas of the left hemisphere of the brain and part of the left frontal sinus. Microscopically, the mass was an adenocarcinoma and probably arose from the lining epithelium of the...
Webb AI, Weaver BM.Seventeen horses were dissected and their organs and tissues weighed. The results of these dissections are presented together with comparisons of the data with that already available in the literature. Predictive equations for organs and tissue weights are also given which were derived by comparison of linear and allometric regression models using 4 different body weight indices.
Reynolds DJ, Nicholl TK.A 5 month old colt foal with recurrent pyrexia and a loud pansystolic murmur later developed signs of cardiac failure. Peritoneal fluid and blood samples both demonstrated an extreme leucocytosis and neutrophilia. At post-mortem both a cranial mesenteric arteritis and the congenital cardiac anomaly, Tetralogy of Fallot were found. The detailed clinical and post-mortem findings contributing to the case are described.
Dixon RJ, Hartley WJ, Hutchins DR, Lepherd EE, Feilen C, Jones RF, Love DN, Sabine M, Wells AL.An outbreak of perinatal foal mortality associated with a herpesvirus is described. Twenty two foals either were still-born, or died soon after birth, or were weak and soon developed severe respiratory signs, or were normal at birth and developed respiratory symptoms 18 to 24 hours later. Elevated temperatures, heart and respiratory rates were constant features. The animals were severely leucopaenic, and showed an absolute neutropaenia. At autopsy the lungs were enlarged, and showed varying degrees of aeration and moderate to severe oedema and congestion. Histopathology showed an acute focal n...
Morse CC, Richardson DW.An unusually large, pedunculated (20 cm long) mass arising the gastric pylorus which produced complete obstruction of the proximal duodenum and severe gastric distension was found in a 13-year old castrated male Arabian horse. The histological diagnosis was gastric hyperplastic polyp, which has not been reported previously in the horse. The clinico-pathological findings in this horse are compared with hyperplastic (inflammatory) gastric polyps of man.
Beatriz FR, Marta VG, María MC, Joaquín JF, Esther DF, Luis-Javier EC, Gabriel MD, Manuel IG.An 8-year-old mare mule was presented with a facial mass and history of anorexia, unilateral epistaxis and purulent nasal discharge. The facial mass was encountered from the ventral to the lateral right canthus of the eye up to the facial crest. Thoracic ultrasonography showed five rounded masses. A standing CT under sedation was performed revealing a huge extension and infiltration on surrounding tissues. Due to the extension, type of lesions, outcome and suspicion of metastasis, the owner chose to euthanize the patient. Necropsy confirmed the presence of tumoral lesions spread into the lungs...
Allison CJ.A chronic wasting disease in a 16 month old Welsh pony filly is described. The animal died 26 days after the onset of illness which commenced with a sub-acute colic and was characterised by progressive loss of appetite and weight. Post-mortem examination revealed a total invagination of the caecum into the colon and it seemed logical to assume this invagination occurred at the start of the illness. A review of the literature showed that total caecal invagination produces 2 distinct clincal syndromes. It can occur either as an acute illness characterised by severe colic and death after about 10...
Camacho-Rozo CA, Santos GO, Wenzen DP, Cousseau SB, Wronski JG, Argenta FF, Winter GHZ, Pavarini SP, Mattos RC.This report describes a case of sudden death of a pregnant miniature mare due to an acute ovarian hemorrhage leading to fatal hemoperitoneum. The miniature horse was a 12-year-old female, 60 days pregnant, with a body condition score of 7 (1-9), with a history of obesity and laminitis. Necropsy revealed hemoperitoneum due to an ovarian capsule rupture and hemorrhage after a physiological supplementary ovulation and luteinization. Ovarian rupture after ovulation is uncommon in mares.
Kannegieter NJ, Alley MR.A 20-month-old, Standard-bred colt was presented with an acute onset of hindlimb ataxia. Clinical and radiographic examination identified a compressive lesion affecting the spinal cord at the level of the 17th to 18th thoracic vertebrae. After euthanasia, post-mortem examination revealed a tumour in the epidural space, diagnosed histologically as a lymphosarcoma. Neoplastic lymphoid cells were also present in the abdominal lymph nodes and brain. Because of the disseminated nature of lymphosarcoma in the horse, involvement of the central nervous system is likely to be more common than is presen...
Ohshima K, Satake S, Ono M, Ajito T, Okada K, Numakunai S.A pathological study was performed on osteoarthrosis detected at autopsy in 20 horses whose ages ranged from 21 days to 17 years old. They were asymptomatic on the joints except in 3 animals, and autopsied after death or sacrificed due to accidental fracture or other diseases. Lesions of osteoarthrosis were recognized in all horses, which tended to increase in incidence and severity according to age. Lesions were concentrated at hinged joints such as the elbow, fetlock, and hock. Synovial fossae and ulcerative lesions were observed on each opposite articular cartilage, forming the so-called mi...
Pearson H, Pinsent PJ, Denny HR, Waterman A.The indications for laparotomy in 140 horses are analysed, with particular emphasis on the operative or autopsy findings in 82 cases of colic. In cases of exploratory laparotomy, the overall recovery rate was only 28 per cent but 48 of the 82 animals were considered to have inoperable lesions. The recovery rate and causes of death for each indication are briefly reviewed.
Pearson GR, Davies LW, White AL, O'Brien JK.The intestinal tracts of 20 horses, killed at a local abattoir and of unknown age, sex and previous clinical history were examined for the presence of Anoplocephala perfoliata attached to the ileo-caecal junction. Four horses had no tape-worms, nine had one to 20 tapeworms attached to the mucosa and seven had more than 100 attached to the mucosa. The histological changes of thickening, ulceration and eosinophil infiltration of the mucosa at the ileo-caecal junction were more severe when more than 100 parasites were present.
Patterson-Kane JC, Sanchez LC, Uhl EW, Edens LM.A 12-year-old grey Warmblood stallion presented with fever of unknown origin, and anaemia. Five days later it had developed ataxia and become recumbent, and was humanely killed. At necropsy, malignant melanomas were identified in the perineal subcutis, spleen, and thoracic vertebral canal (T10-11). Populations of malignant melanoma cells were scattered throughout medullary cavities of the axial and appendicular skeleton, and were identified grossly as irregular areas of black to grey discoloration. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of disseminated intramedullary melanoma in a...
Black SB, Stenhouse AM, Hansson RC.This paper details various rapid and sensitive methods for the extraction and derivatisation of propranolol, metoprolol, sotalol, atenolol, pindolol, timolol, oxprenolol, alprenolol and penbutolol in equine urine and in human post mortem whole blood and urine. Three solid-phase extraction methods are described involving the use of either XtrackT XRDAH515, Bond Elut Certify or Sep-Pak C18 cartridges. Two derivatisation methods are also described involving the formation of cyclised silyl or pentafluoropropionate derivatives with either chloromethyldimethylchlorosilane or pentafluoropropionic anh...
Franken P, van den Hoven R, Sasse HH, Koeman JP, Goedegebuure SD.The case of a three-year-old mare is reported, in which clinical examination revealed the presence of haemorrhagic diathesis as a result of disseminated intravascular coagulation. The animal also showed severe lameness which was due to involvement of the long bones. The diagnosis was only established after death.
Smith BL, Morton LD, Watkins JP, Taylor TS, Storts RW.A 16-year-old cryptorchid Quarter House with colic had a large, lobulated soft-tissue mass to the left of the pelvic inlet. At surgery, 2 large multilobulated pedunculated masses were removed. A large blood vessel enveloped by one of the masses was damaged, and the horse exsanguinated. Postmortem examination of the abdomen revealed the masses to be malignant seminoma, with multiple sites of metastasis.
Oikawa MA, Kamada M, Yoshihara T, Kaneko M, Yoshikawa T.To elucidate the current status of foal diseases in Japan, clinico-pathological analysis was conducted on 237 foal autopsy cases. As a result, bacterial infection was identified as an important cause of foal death. Most of the bacteria isolated from these cases were ubiquitous, opportunistic, environmental organisms, known to be non-pathogenic to mature animals. Most of cases with bacterial infection were diagnosed as having hypogammaglobulinemia, i.e., failure of passive transfer. In addition, the mean weight of thymuses in foals affected by bacterial infection tended to be lower than that of...
van der Kolk JH, Bernadina WE, Visser IJ.A four year old Dutch warmblooded mare was born and raised in the province of North-Brabant, the Netherlands. On May 16, 1989, she showed signs of colic, anorexia, depression, ileus, severe dehydration and leukopenia. When the mare collapsed, euthanasia was carried out. Acute colitis and cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in macrophages were observed at autopsy. When an indirect immunofluorescence assay was performed, the Ehrlichia risticii titre of the serum was found to be 1:640.
Stadler P, Weinberger T, Kinkel N, Deegen E.B- and M-mode echocardiography was performed on 38 horses. 34 patients had systolic heart murmur with the point of maximal intensity over mitral valve. Additionally, 17 of these patients were examined with the pulsed wave doppler echocardiography (Vingmed 200). In 26 patients with cardiac murmur and in 4 patients without cardiac murmur a mitral valve insufficiency was diagnosed by echocardiography. In 8 horses with a systolic murmur over mitral valve M- and B-mode evaluation could not reveal a haemodynamic importance of the murmur. The diagnosis of MVI was based on a dilation of left atrium wi...
Haschek WM, King JM, Tennant BC.Of 2 horses with renal cell carcinoma, 1 had massive ascites but no other signs of urinary tract disease; the other had hematuria. In both horses, the tumors were palpable as large perirenal masses. The tumor mass of horse 1 almost completely replaced the left kidney, and there were tumor implants on the serosa of abdominal organs. The right kidney of horse 2 was compressed peripherally by the tumor, which completely filled the renal pelvis. The prevalence of renal cell carcinoma in horses and dogs necropsied at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine between 1953 and 1976 was simila...
McGavin MD, Knake R.A 35-kg Duroc pig died 3 days after eating a ration containing aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, and G2. It had hemorrhagic enteritis and extensive midzonal necrosis in the liver. A 13-year-old Quarterhorse that died 2 days after eating moldy hay had hemorrhagic enteritis, fatty degeneration of the myocardium and renal tubules, and extensive total midzonal necrosis of the liver.
Spier S.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.
Shojaei B, Kheirandish R, Azizi S.The present study describes the anatomical and microscopic features of a horseshoe kidney that was found in a 7-year-old male horse. The specimen consisted of two kidneys joined at their caudal poles by an isthmus composed of renal parenchyma and situated caudal to the caudal mesenteric artery. Six main renal arteries arose from the aorta and the external iliac arteries and ramified into 21 branches before entering the kidney. A hypoplastic and ectopic left testis, located in the inguinal canal, was observed as an associated anomaly.
van der Kolk JH, van der Wijden MW, Jongejan F.Equine granulocytic ehrlichiosis (EGE) has been observed in the U.S.A., Brazil, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and possibly in Great Britain. The causative agent is rickettsia Ehrlichia equi, identified for the first time in 1969. The clinical features of the disease are anorexia, fever, depression, (limb) oedema, icterus, ataxia, petechiae and orchitis. Hematologic changes are leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia and cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in the neutrophils and eosinophils. Vasculitis may be observed at autopsy. Following a positive hematological diagnosis (Giemsa stained blood smear) of...
Finley MR, Rebhun WC, Dee A, Langsetmo I.An 8-year-old castrated male Paint Horse was referred because of generalized pruritus, alopecia, and intermittent fever. Results of gross evaluation of the skin and microscopic evaluation of skin scrapings were inconclusive. Histologic examination of skin biopsy specimens revealed vasculitis. The horse had persistent hypercalcemia; therefore, lymphosarcoma was considered a possibility. Ultrasonography revealed hypoechoic nodules within the parenchyma of the spleen and liver. Results of microscopic evaluation of an aspirate from a splenic nodule were suggestive of lymphosarcoma. The condition o...
Musselman EE, LoGuidice RJ.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...
Fox JH, Porter BF, Easterwood L, Hildenbrand JRV, Hélie P, Smylie J, O'Toole D.Metal phosphides, particularly zinc and aluminum phosphide, occasionally poison horses and other equids following their use as rodenticides and insecticides. Grain-based aluminum phosphide baits are used to control rodents such as prairie dogs. The clinical course in intoxicated horses is short (<24-48 h), and animals may be found dead. Hepatic lesions caused by phosphine poisoning are not well described. Laboratory confirmation depends on detecting phosphine gas in gastric contents. Eight horses and a mule were exposed to zinc phosphide used to control prairie dogs on a Wyoming ranch. Three o...
Roberts MC, Kelly WR.A four-year-old thoroughbred was presented with clinical manifestations of purpura haemorrhagica. Evidence of renal involvement consistent with glomerulopathy and nephrotic syndrome, characterised by heavy proteinuria and azotaemia, became apparent and may have been exacerbated by diuretic therapy. Autopsy revealed membrano- and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis and chronic pleuritis. Circulating immune complexes may have been responsible for the renal diseases and the purpura.
Pintore MD, Cantile C.A full-term male foal born in a farm holidays in Maremma (Tuscany, Italy) was euthanized shortly after birth due to the presence of several malformations. The rostral maxilla and the nasal septum were deviated to the right (wry nose), and a severe cervico-thoracic scoliosis and anus atresia were evident. Necropsy revealed ileum atresia and agenesis of the right kidney. The brain showed an incomplete separation of the hemispheres of the rostral third of the forebrain and the olfactory bulbs and tracts were absent (olfactory aplasia). A diagnosis of semilobar holoprosencephaly (HPE) was achieved...
Wright JA, Fordyce P, Edington N.Ultrastructural lesions of the cranial nerves and their ganglia and the autonomic nervous system from 5 cases of neuritis of the cauda equina in the horse are described. They include lysosomal inclusions within the semilunar, geniculate and sympathetic chain ganglia, granulomatous involvement of the coeliaco-mesenteric ganglion and accumulation of axonal organelles in unmyelinated fibres of the great splanchnic nerve, sympathetic chain and oesophageal vagus.
Engiles JB, Uzal FA, Navarro MA, Reef VB, Bender SJ.Phlegmonous gastritis was diagnosed in 2 yearling fillies that were presented with a 1-wk history of fever, lethargy, and hypoproteinemia, associated with a previous diagnosis of equine proliferative enteropathy based on clinical signs and PCR assay detection of Lawsonia intracellularis in fecal samples. Abdominal ultrasound revealed enlargement of the stomach and expansion of its submucosal layer with hypoechoic fluid, as well as thickened hypomotile small intestinal segments. Given the poor prognosis and poor response to treatment, both horses were euthanized, one on the day of presentation ...
Asin J, Murphy BG, Samol MA, Polanco J, Moore JD, Uzal FA.Rickets is a metabolic bone disease associated with failure of endochondral ossification and impaired osteoid mineralization in growing animals. As a consequence, affected individuals can develop gross and microscopic bone malformations. The most common causes of rickets in domestic species include vitamin D and phosphorus deficiency. Rickets has been described in multiple species; however, comprehensive postmortem characterizations with confirmatory histopathology in equids have not been published. A 6-mo-old, Thoroughbred-cross foal was diagnosed with rickets based on gross autopsy findings ...
Hall LW, Young SS, Franklin RJ, Jefferies AK, Corke MJ.Investigations were carried out to determine whether measurements of total respiratory resistance (TRR) made in resting animals could detect changes due to laryngeal hemiplegia. Control values of TRR were obtained in eight ponies and in six of these the measurements were repeated after division of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve in the mid-cervical region; two were retained as controls. A further set of measurements were made before two of the operated animals were subjected to left laryngoventriculectomy (Hobday operation). A laryngoplasty ('tie-back' operation) was performed on another tw...
Machida N, Tanaka Y, Taya K, Nakamura T.A case of congenital ovarian interstitial cell hamartoma in a thoroughbred foal that died of apparent nutritional myopathy (white-muscle disease) 14 h after birth is described. An incidental finding at necropsy was a pale brown, mushroom-shaped, pedunculated mass (6 x 4 x 3 cm) attached to the left ovary. On the cut surface, the mass had a peripheral rim of dense parenchyma (3-5 mm wide), surrounding a pale gelatinous core. Histologically, the mass consisted of a peripheral zone of densely packed large cells that were quite similar, morphologically, to fetal ovarian interstitial cells, and a c...
