Topic:Diagnostic Technique
Diagnostic techniques in equine medicine encompass a range of procedures and tools used to identify diseases, injuries, or other health conditions in horses. These techniques include imaging methods such as radiography, ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as laboratory tests like blood work and tissue biopsies. Each diagnostic method provides specific information that can aid in the assessment and management of equine health issues. Radiography is commonly used for evaluating bone structures, while ultrasonography is useful for soft tissue examination. MRI offers detailed images of both soft and hard tissues, though its use is limited by cost and availability. Laboratory tests can detect biochemical and hematological changes indicative of disease. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the development, application, and efficacy of various diagnostic techniques in equine veterinary practice.
Effect of age and pregnancy on the antibody and cell-mediated immune responses of horses to equine herpesvirus 1. The cell-mediated immune response and antibody response of horses of varying ages and of pregnant horses to equine herpesvirus 1 antigen were examined. Six to eight month old horses showed either no increase or slight increases in anti-equine herpesvirus 1 serum neutralizing antibody following vaccination and revaccination with a modified live equine herpesvirus 1 vaccine. However, these same horses showed a marked increase in the cell-mediated immune response to equine herpesvirus 1 as measured by the lymphocyte transformation test. Eighteen to 21 month old horses showed four to 64-fold incre...
Phenylalanine inhibited p-nitrophenyl phosphatase activity in the serum as an indication of intestinal cellular disruption in the horse. Examination of tissues obtained from thoroughbred horses showed that the 'intestinal' phosphatase activity could be differentiated from other phosphatases by analysis at a pH of 9-5 and inhibition with 15 mM L-phenylalanine. A simple method for the measurement of 'intestinal' phosphatase in heparinised plasma or serum is described. Application of the technique to serum or plasma from normal and diseased horses indicates that the increase in the activity of 'intestinal' phosphatase is associated with cases showing clinical, biochemical and haematological evidence of intestinal damage.
Effects of storage on the methaemoglobin content of equine blood. Equine blood containing different levels of methaemoglobin was stored under varying conditions and the methaemoglobin content was monitored during the storage period. Only under aerobic storage at 4 degrees C did the methaemoglobin content of all samples appear to remain stable.
Practical methods of determining serum immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G concentrations in foals. Serum concentrations of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) can be determined in the horse with a satisfactory degree of accuracy, using commercially available reagents. Selected lots of anti-human IgM can be used in precipitation tests to detect and quantitate equine IgM. Commercially available anti-equine IgG tended to overestimate the amount of IgG in single radial immunodiffusion tests. Even with these limitations, commercial reagents can be used to differentiate immunodeficiency disorders of foals, including combined immunodeficiency and failure of passive transfer of colost...
RAST in the diagnosis of hypersensitivity to horse allergens. A comparison with clinical history and in vivo tests. Case history, skin tests and RAST were compared in a group (n = 40) of children with a history suggesting allergy to horses and in a group (n = 43) in whom there was no suspicion of hypersensitivity to horses. There was an agreement of 91% between case history and prick test. The same magnitude of agreement was found between case history and RAST (89%), and the agreement between RAST and prick test was 90%. The results of this investigation are clearly in contrast to earlier earlier reports, in that there was a very good correlation between prick test, RAST and case history. The results sugges...
Effects of blood contamination on cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Data were obtained from 190 cerebrospinal fluid samples collected from both clinically normal and diseased dogs, cats, cows, and horses. Red blood cells, indicating blood contamination, were identified in 115 samples. White blood cells were a rare finding in normal animals. Blood contamination appeared to have little effect on white blood cell numbers even though, in several samples, thousands of red blood cells were identified. An accepted formula to correct for blood contamination was found to be an unreliable method to determine "uncontaminated" values for white blood cells, total protein, ...
Lactic acid concentration in peritoneal fluid of normal and diseased horses. Peritoneal fluid from each of 15 clinically healthy horses and five horses with acute abdominal disease was evaluated for lactic acid concentration. The normal range was 2-7--13-4 mg/dl. Simultaneous blood and peritoneal fluid samples from healthy horses revealed consistently lower lactic acid concentrations in the peritoneal fluid than in the blood, whereas peritoneal fluid lactic acid levels were consistently greater than blood levels in the diseased horses. The diseased horses had highly significant (P less than 0-005) increases in both blood and peritoneal fluid lactic acid concentrations ...
Direct radioimmunoassay of progesterone in mare plasma. A rapid and low cost radioimmunologic procedure for progesterone assay in mare plasma is proposed. Radioimmunoassay is performed directly on 10 microliter of unextracted plasma. Free progesterone is adsorbed on dextran-charcoal, then the aqueous phase is decanted and extracted by 1 ml of scintillation fluid. Counting is performed directly on this two-phase system. Results are comparable to those obtained with radioimmunoassays using extracted plasma.
Analysis of serum proteins and cerebrospinal fluid in clinically normal horses, using agarose electrophoresis. Using agarose as a supporting matrix, electrophoresis was conducted on 50 serum samples and 20 cerebrospinal fluid samples from clinically normal horses (n = 50) of various ages and breeds. The technique was shown to be reliable. A positive correlation between age and gamma-globulin concentration was found in young horses. Features of the electrophoretograms of serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples are discussed, and a nomenclature based on Rf values is proposed.
The arterial supply of the navicular bone and its variations in navicular disease. Macroscopic, microscopic and radiological examinations of the navicular bones of 83 horses and ponies showed that the navicular bone in the adult horse has 2 principal routes of blood supply. One supply is present at birth, the other develops within the first 2 to 3 years of life, in response to increasing activity. The size of the nutrient foramina, as seen on radiographs, is related to the type, frequency and regularity of work done by the horse. These foramina are normally conical in shape, alteration to a circular, or mushroom-shape being evidence of occlusive vascular disease in the navic...
Electronic and steric factors affecting ligand binding: horse hemoglobins containing 2,4-dimethyldeuteroheme and 2,4-dibromodeuteroheme. Horse globin has been recombined with 2,4-dimethyldeuteroheme and 2,4-dibromodeuteroheme to yield the corresponding reconstituted hemoglobins, and the ligand binding reactions of these reconstituted hemoglobins have been examined in detail. Both hemoglobins exhibit relatively high n values, but 2,4-dimethyldeuterohemoglobin displays a consistently higher oxygen affinity than native hemoglobin, whereas the oxygen affinity of 2,4-dibromodeuterohemoglobin is consistently lower than that of native hemoglobin. The rate constants l’, and 1’4 for the binding of the first and fourth molecules of C...
Surgical treatment of an unusual fracture of the first phalanx of a horse. A 3 year old thoroughbred colt in full training pulled up
acutely lame during a training gallop on a dirt track.
According to the trainer no reason for the injury was
evident. The horse refused to bear weight on the leg
and when forced to walk back to the stables it would
only touch the affected toe to the ground. The fetlock
soon became swollen and was very painful. The trainer
treated the animal for a sprain with ice packs and
bandages. No improvement occurred in 72 hours and
veterinary advice was sought.
Examination revealed the horse to be in obvious
pain. He was unable to bear ...
Sarcocystis fayeri sp. n. from the horse. Hearts, diaphragms, esophagi, and spinal cords from 266 horses were obtained at slaughter in Creston, Ohio. Tissues were examined microscopically for Sarcocystis in sections, digested in trypsin to obtain bradyzoites, and fed to 10 dogs and 10 cats. Intramuscular cysts were found in selections of two hearts from 57 horses and four esophagi from 107 horses. The cysts were up to 900 micron long and up to 70 micron wide. The cyst wall was 1 to 2 micron thick and cross-striated. The enclosed bradyzoites were banana-shaped, 15 to 20 by 20 to 3 micron, and contained several PAS-positive granules. Br...
Infertility in the horse associated with chromosomal abnormalities. Reproductive failure was studied in 12 phenotypically normal mares (9 Arabian, 3 Quarter horses, 1 Appaloosa and 1 pony). Karyotyping was performed using lymphocytes isolated from peripheral blood by density gradient procedures, followed by standard culture methods for karyotyping. Nine mares had karyotypes of 63,XO; 1 had 63,XO/64,XX; 1 had 63,XO/64,XY and 1 had 64,XY. All mares had small, firm ovaries that when removed and examined from 4 mares, lacked germ cells and consisted of undifferentiated ovarian stroma.
Physical optics of the equine eye. The equine eye was treated as a general lens system and calculations were done to determine image position in relation to the retina for objects at a distance of infinity, 100 m, and 1 m. The retina is 19.1 mm behind the posterior surface of the lens; therefore, the image appears 14.6 mm posterior to the retina at infinity and at 100 m, and 16.3 mm at 1-m distance on a horizontal axis. The animals studied were hyperopic. It is evident that the horse must move its head or eye, or both, for optimal visual acuity. At the same time, some objects in the total field of vision are imperceptible or in...
Laboratory methods of equine pregnancy diagnosis. Rectal examination is a reliable method of diagnosing pregnancy in the mare. Also, test kits are available for the simple quick detection of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin. Nevertheless there is a considerable demand by practitioners for an independent laboratory service in equine pregnancy diagnosis, particularly during the gestational phase when placental gonadotrophin is concentrated in the blood. An initial attempt to provide a service by means of the agar gel diffusion test was disappointing and alternatives were sought. The primary requirements for an ideal alternative technique were ...
New techniques to measure blood cholinesterase activity in domesticated animals. A macromethod and a semimicromethod were developed to measure erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase activity in cattle, sheep, goats, horses, dogs, and swine, and to measure plasma cholinesterase activity in horses, dogs, and swine. Comparison of the 2 methods with erythrocytes of sheep, cattle, goats, and horses indicated both methods gave similar results. They can be done in a shorter time and are more sensitive than Michel's method. Normal deltapH values per minutes, with standard deviations for blood cholinesterase activity of animals of different ages, sexes, breeds, and species, were: 0.76 +/...