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Topic:Clinical Pathology
Clinical pathology in horses involves the study and analysis of biological samples to diagnose and monitor diseases and health conditions. This discipline encompasses various laboratory tests and procedures that assess the physiological and biochemical status of equines. Common analyses include hematology, biochemistry, urinalysis, and cytology, each providing insights into different aspects of equine health. Hematology evaluates blood components, such as red and white blood cells and platelets, to identify conditions like anemia or infection. Biochemistry tests measure enzymes, electrolytes, and metabolites to assess organ function and metabolic status. Urinalysis examines urine samples for indicators of renal function and systemic diseases. Cytology involves the microscopic examination of cells from tissues or fluids to detect abnormalities. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, applications, and diagnostic value of clinical pathology in equine medicine.
Osteochondrotic changes in the vertebrae of four ataxic horses suffering from cervical vertebral malformation. Ataxia caused by a focal compression of the cervical spinal cord was diagnosed in four young standardbred trotting horses. Diagnosis was verified by myelography. Changes in the cervical vertebral column were studied using microradiographic and histologic methods. In the vertebrae involved, there was irregularity of the cartilaginous growth zone, cracks with a loose fragment and disturbance in the enchondral ossification. These changes resemble osteochondrosis. Porous appearance in lateral and ventral funiculi as well as mural calcified plaques in the small vessels of the white matter were foun...
Disseminated intravascular coagulation in six horses. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) was diagnosed as a secondary disease in 6 horses. Four horses had localized and/or systemic sepsis, one horse had disseminated neoplasia, and one had idiopathic ulcerative enteropathy. The diagnosis of DIC was based on the finding of at least 3 of 4 abnormalities: thrombocytopenia, prolonged prothrombin time, prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time, and a high concentration of fibrinolytic degradation products. The most common clinical signs other than those attributable to the primary disease process were abnormal hemorrhage (4 hours) and v...
Renal medullary crest necrosis associated with phenylbutazone therapy in horses. Thirty-five cases of renal medullary crest necrosis morphologically similar to the renal papillary necrosis of analgesic nephropathy as described in man and rats are reported in horses receiving maintenance dosages of phenylbutazone. The primary lesion is a well-demarcated focal medullary necrosis resulting in sequestration of fragments of the renal crest. Renal cortical lesions are considered secondary to the medullary necrosis and consist of segmental pallor as a result of tubular dilatation, filtrate retention, and interstitial edema. Ischemia in concert with phenylbutazone is suggested as ...
Horse red blood cells frozen with 20% (w/v) glycerol and stored at -150 C for five years. When equine RBC were frozen with 20% (w/v) glycerol and stored at -150 C for as long as 5 years, there were no adverse effects on freeze-thaw or freeze-thaw-wash recovery or oxygen transport function. The manner in which the glycerol was added to, and removed from, the equine RBC was shown to be an important consideration in ensuring optimal freeze-thaw-wash recovery values.
Acute experimentally induced aflatoxicosis in the weanling pony. Nineteen weanling ponies and 1 adult pony were given a single oral dose of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). Dosages were: 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7.4 mg of AFB1/kg of body weight. Vital signs were monitored, and whole blood and serum collected for analysis of serum enzymes, prothrombin time, blood cell counts, and serum urea nitrogen. Ponies that died were examined for gross lesions, and tissues were collected for histopathologic examination and analysis of AFB1 and AFM1 residues. Two of the 4 ponies given the 2 mg/kg dose and all ponies given the larger dosages died within 76 hours. Clinical signs inc...
Disseminated intravascular coagulation in experimental intestinal strangulation obstruction in ponies. Total strangulation obstruction of the caudal part of the jejunum was induced in 3 groups (each of 3 ponies) for 2, 4, and 6 hours. Coagulation tests which included blood platelet counts, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, activated coagulation time, plasma fibrinogen level, and fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products assay were performed at specified time intervals for 1 week or until death of the experimental ponies. Another 3 ponies (sham-operated) were similarly treated, except that intestinal strangulation obstruction (ISO) was not induced. Necropsy was done on ponies...
Mechanical properties of equine hoof wall tissue. The mechanical properties of pigmented equine hoof wall tissue were determined for samples taken from the inner and outer portions of the stratum medium of the toe. Two properties, the modulus of elasticity and proportional limit, which are measures of the rigidity and yield point, respectively, of the tissue, were studied for samples compressed in 3 orthogonal directions. All samples tested were anisotropic. Inner wall samples were less rigid and had a lower yield point than outer wall samples.
Automated serum chemical analysis in the foal. Blood was collected from healthy Quarter Horse and Appaloosa foals at birth and at intervals until 18 weeks of age and then was processed in an automated system for serum chemical analysis, grouping the results by age. The test values were markedly different from those normally expected in adult horses. The greatest differences were in alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose, and total bilirubin measurements. It was concluded that serum biochemical test results be compared with age-specific normal values before diagnoses are made in cases of illness.
Pathological changes in the navicular bone and associated structures of the horse. Navicular bones from 74 horses were examined at necropsy. Animals ranged in age from eight months to 30 years. Eight horses had a clinical history of navicular disease. Degenerative lesions in the fibrocartilaginous surface of the navicular bone and of the surface of the deep flexor tendons were age related changes not necessarily related to lameness. These lesions were more extensive in horses with a history of navicular disease, and were often accompanied by adhesions and subchondral cavitation of the fibrocartilaginous surface of the navicular bone. Osteophytes, present in 12 of the 74 hors...
Use of an autogenous cancellous bone graft in the treatment of subchondral bone cysts in the medial femoral condyle of the horse. The clinical features, diagnosis and radiological findings of eight cases of a subchondral bone cyst involving the medial condyle of the femur are described. Surgical treatment, which comprised performing an arthrotomy of the femorotibial joint, curetting and packing the cystic cavity with an autogenous cancellous bone graft, is described.
Giant cell tumor of soft parts in six horses. Giant cell tumor of soft parts was diagnosed in 6 horses 3 to 12 years old (mean, 6.8 +/- 3.5 years): 3 Quarter Horse geldings, 2 Standardbred mares, and 1 Standardbred stallion. The neoplasms developed as raised, solitary masses, approximately 1 to 4 cm in diameter, which were firmly attached to subcutaneous tissue of the neck (1 horse), shoulder (1 horse), thigh (2 horses), or stifle (2 horses). Excision was followed by local recurrence in 3 horses within 1 to 1 1/2 months. The neoplasms were firm and cut with resistance. On cut surface, they were white, with mottled red hemorrhagic areas.
Survey of 79 referral colic cases. The clinical, surgical and/or necropsy diagnosis of 79 horses admitted to a referral clinic for evaluation of colic are reported. Twenty-one horses were presented with conditions amenable to medical treatment and all were subsequently discharged. Exploratory laparotomies were performed on 44 horses during the present study, in some cases as a diagnostic procedure preceding euthanasia. In general, in surgical cases the mortality rate was highest for problems involving the small intestine, followed by those affecting the large colon and then the small colon. Postoperative sequelae included perit...
Prognosis in equine colic: a study of individual variables used in case assessment. The individual merit of the use of 43 variables to assess the prognosis of equine colic cases was examined. The following variables revealed highly significant (P less than 0.001) differences between cases which survived and those which died: blood pressure; heart rate; oral mucosal capillary refill time; degree of mental depression; venous haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit, erythrocyte count, urea concentration and lactate concentration; peritoneal fluid lactate concentration; and haematocrit/plasma protein and serum protein concentration ratios. Thus, in general, variables which assesse...
Clostridium fallax as a cause of gas-oedema disease in a horse. We record a fatal case of gas-oedema disease (malignant oedema) in a 5-year-old horse. The nature of the lesion is consistent with a gas-oedema type infection due to a Clostridium spp. The causative organism was isolated and identified by conventional biochemical tests and by gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of its metabolic products as Clostridium fallax, but significant variations in the reported biochemical characteristics of Cl. fallax were detected. We believe that this is the first reported case of Cl. fallax infection in a horse.
Palatal myositis in horses with dorsal displacement of the soft palate. The histologic and histochemical features of palatine muscles from 53 horses were studied; 25 of the horses were racehorses that had upper airway obstruction associated with dorsal displacement of the soft palate and 28 of the horses did not have any respiratory disorders and served as controls. Pathologic features observed included myonecrosis, phagocytosis, mononuclear cell infiltration of perimysial connective tissue, alkaline phosphatase-positive myofibers, and myofibers with cytoarchitectural changes that included irregular staining of the intermyofibrillar sarcoplasm and sarcoplasmic mas...
High-performance liquid affinity chromatography on silica-bound alcohol dehydrogenase. Horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase was immobilized on glycerylpropyl-silica (10 micron, 1000-A pores) activated with 2,2,2-trifluoroethanesulfonyl chloride (tresyl chloride). The coupling and activity yield was almost 100%. The coenzyme-binding sites were equivalent and virtually unaffected by the immobilization process, as judged from Scatchard plots and active-site titrations. The silica-bound enzyme, packed in steel columns, was integrated with HPLC equipment and then successfully used for chromatography of adenine nucleosides, adenine nucleotides, and triazine dyes. Dissociation constants w...
Phenoxymethyl penicillin in the horse: an alternative to parenteral administration of penicillin. This preliminary study evaluated phenoxymethyl penicillin (Penicillin V) as an alternative to parenteral administration of penicillin in horses. Penicillin V was administered orally to five horses at two different doses and plasma levels of the drug were determined at timed intervals. The results were evaluated by regression analysis. Following the administration of penicillin V at a dose of 66,000 IU/kg or 110,000 IU/kg, the mean peak plasma levels obtained were 1.55 micrograms/mL and 2.34 micrograms/mL respectively. A plasma level two to four times above the minimal inhibitory concentration ...
Changes of the fibrocartilage in navicular disease in horses. A histological and histochemical investigation of navicular bones. Histological and histochemical investigations of the fibrocartilage of facies flexoria from navicular bones of horses with navicular disease have shown alterations similar to those described in the hyaline articular cartilage in osteoarthritic joints.
Segmental epidural and subarachnoid analgesia in conscious horses: a comparative study. Six adult horses were used to compare the effects of segmental epidural analgesia (SEA) and segmental subarachnoid analgesia (SSA). A 17-gauge Huber point directional needle was used to place a catheter with stylet into the epidural space or the subarachnoid space at the lumbosacral intervertebral junction and to catheterize the thoracolumbar epidural or subarachnoid space. The position of the catheter was confirmed radiographically. A 2% solution of mepivacaine hydrochloride was used at average doses of 80 mg (4 ml) to produce SEA and 30 mg (1.5 ml) to produce SSA. Onset of analgesia in respo...
Equine herpesvirus abortion in Australia 1977 to 1982. Until 1977 no case of abortion caused by equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV1) had been recorded in Australia although the virus, called equine rhinopneumonitis virus, had been known to have been present at least since 1962. Outbreaks of EHV1 abortion occurred in New South Wales in 1977 and in 1981. Sporadic cases of EHV1 abortion had been confirmed in some parts of Australia each year since 1975. It was concluded that an abortigenic subtype of EHV1 had been introduced to Australia in 1977 and that the previously endemic respiratory subtype occasionally caused abortion. Virus isolation in a variety of c...
Aspects of the pathology of stifle bone cysts in the horse. The gross and histological appearance of subchondral bone cysts in six Thoroughbred or partbred horses is described. The lesions were all situated in the centre of the medial femoral condyle and were not associated with any other damage to the articular surface of the femorotibial or femoropatellar joints. In three cases the cysts were unilateral but had an early non-cystic lesion present in the opposite stifle. All the cysts had a narrow channel at their distal extremity which communicated with the femorotibial joint. The more recently developed ones were fluid filled and contained fibrous st...
[Experiences with half-closed castration in stallions]. The half-closed method of castration involves ligation of the spermatic cord enclosed in the vaginal tunic, the testicle itself lying outside the opened vaginal tunic. Of 497 horses and ponies admitted to the Department of Large Animal Surgery and castrated using this technique, 68.6 per cent recovered without complications. Although the most serious postoperative complications such as intestinal eventration and haemorrhage of the spermatic cord may be reduced to a minimum by this approach, normal healing cannot be guaranteed under the circumstances in which this method was used.
Management of umbilical hernias in cattle and horses. The medical records of 60 cattle and 47 horses treated for umbilical hernia at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine over a 3-year period were studied retrospectively. Age, hernia size, physical signs at admission, reducibility, method of repair, prevalence, and types of complications were evaluated. Most patients were less than 6 months old, with hernias less than 10 cm long. Affected cattle had a higher prevalence of organic diseases associated with umbilical hernias and more postsurgical complications than did affected horses.
