Disease diagnosis in horses involves the identification and characterization of illnesses through various diagnostic methods and tools. This process is essential for effective veterinary care and management of equine health. Techniques used in diagnosing diseases in horses include clinical examinations, laboratory tests, imaging modalities such as ultrasonography and radiography, and molecular diagnostics. Blood tests are frequently utilized to assess parameters such as complete blood count and biochemical profiles, which can indicate underlying health issues. Additionally, advancements in genetic testing and biomarker identification have enhanced the ability to detect specific diseases early. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore diagnostic methodologies, their applications, and their impact on equine health management.
Kero T, Kuussaari J.The purpose of this communication is to report the first diagnosed case of spinal ataxia in the horse in Finland. The horse was atactic and had a wobbling gait. Especially in turning and backing the rear legs tended to swing outwards. Macroscopical studies revealed malformation of the cervical vertebral articular facets and narrowing of the cervical vertebral canal. The vertebral malformation caused the degeneration of the spinal cord, through the compression of the cord. In this paper the macroscopial and microscopical findings are discussed and compared with the findings of other authors.
Bester RC, Coetzer JA.A case of granulomatous enteritis in a 2 year-old Thoroughbred colt is reported. Clinically the horse showed chronic wasting and subcutaneous oedema of the ventral parts of the body and legs. Grossly the wall of the jejunum and ileum was uniformly thickened. Microscopically the lamina propria, submucosa and the tunica muscalaris of the small intestine were infiltrated with lymphocytes, plasma cells, epithelioid cells and occasional multinucleated giant cells. The granulomatous reaction was most marked in the muscular layers of the gut wall.
Bennett D.The gross and histological features of multiple bone infection in two foals are described. In both cases the lesions were confined to the region of the growth plate. Bone and, in some cases, growth plate cartilage destruction has occurred associated with an extensive inflammatory cell infiltration. The significance of the pathological observation is discussed in relation to the pathogenesis of bone infection in the foal.
Brobst DF, Lee HA, Spencer GR.An 11-year-old mare with polyuria, polydipsia, and azotemia was found to be hypercalcemic and hypophosphatemic. The concentration of calcium in a single collection of urine was within normal limits, although urinary inorganic phosphate concentration was lower than normal. After a brief period of supportive treatment, the mare died. At necropsy, the kidneys were found to be shrunken and fibrous. Histologically, the lesions were those of glomerulonephritis.
Kisailus EC, Kabat EA.The specificity of Bandeiraea simplicifolia lectin I (BS I) has been studied by competitive-binding assays (CBA) using tritium-labeled human B and hog A substances. Blood-group B substances isolated from horse gastric mucosae and from human ovarian-cyst fluids were much better inhibitors of binding of tritiated blood-group B substance to insoluble BS I-Sepharose 2B than were human blood-group A substances from saliva and ovarian-cyst fluid. A and B active blood-group substances showed the same range of potency in inhibiting binding of tritium-labeled hog A substance to BS I-Sepharose 2B. CBA w...
Duncan ID, Griffiths IR, Madrid RE.A study has been made of the pathological changes in the recurrent laryngeal nerves from horses with clinical and sub-clinical idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia. Qualitative and quantitative studies showed in clinical cases there was a progressive distal loss of large myelinated fibres in the left recurrent nerve. Regenerating clusters and onion bulbs were frequently seen in affected nerves both at proximal and distal levels. Degenerating axons were characterized by collections of organelles, and denervated bands of Bungner were common. Similar but less severe changes were seen in the left recur...
Stalheim OH, Stone SS, Blackburn BO, Foley J.In horses given whole cultures or cells of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp capri (by subcutaneous and intravenous injections), antibody responses were measured by serologic procedures. During an immunization period of 22 weeks, horses produced an antiserum that was used to identify M mycoides subsp capri by agglutination, complement-fixation, and fluorescent antibody (FA) tests, but not by the growth-inhibition test. Horses that were injected with whole cultures of M mycoides subsp capri responded better than horses that were injected with only cells, ie, antibodies were detectable sooner by agar ge...
Valdez H, McMullan WC, Hobson HP, Hanselka DV.A 6-month-old Appaloosa colt had a deviation of the premaxilla and nasal septum as well as a dorsal hump of the nasal bone and maxillomandibular malocclusion. Two surgical procedures were performed 12 weeks apart to correct these anomalies. An intraoral approach and autogenous rib graft were used to correct the malocclusion and deviation of the premaxilla. Osteotomy of the nasal bone and removal of the nasal septum were performed to help correct the deviation and to facilitate free air passage through the nares.
Schatzmann U, Tschudi P, Held JP, Muhlebach B.Glyceryl guaiacolate (GGE) was found to be a useful and safe casting agent when given by rapid intravenous infusion. It was administered to premedicated horses under controlled conditions at various concentrations from 10 to 20 per cent GGE solution. The onset and degree of relaxation was dependent only on the speed of infusion. For casting adult horses 350 to 450 ml of 15 per cent solution must be given within 30 to 60 seconds. A slight transient hypoxaemia occurred which seemed to be related to the animal being in lateral recumbency rather than the depressive action of GGE on respiratory fun...
Cohen ND, Donahue JG, Carey VJ, Seahorn JL, Piercy D, Donahoe JK, Williams DM, Brown SE, Riddle TW.To identify factors associated with abortions during early gestation classified as mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS). Methods: Case-control study. Methods: 324 broodmares from 43 farms in central Kentucky, including 121 mares from 25 farms that had early-term abortions (ETAs) associated with MRLS (case horses), 120 mares from the same farms but that did not abort, and 83 mares from 18 farms that were not severely Impacted by MRLS. Methods: Farm managers were interviewed to obtain data on various management practices and environmental exposures for the mares. Data for case and control hors...
Easley KJ.Infertility in the mare associated with VVR must be managed as a complex problem. A complete reproductive evaluation of the mare is required to establish the cause of VVR in order for proper therapy to be recommended. Establishing a prognosis for the mare's future breeding soundness is important to the horse owner and breeding manager. VVR is almost always associated with other reproductive problems and must be dealt with in view of this.
Simmons HA, Cox JE, Edwards GB, Neal PA, Urquhart KA.This paper reports seven cases of penile paraphimosis which occurred in both entire and castrated horses in association with general debility. Two cases were discharged after treatment while still suffering from partial paralysis; one was discharged at the owner's request with complete paralysis; three were destroyed and one died during treatment. Identified causes of debility were malnutrition, severe parasitism, glucose malabsorption and salmonellosis.
Hollyer JA, McGuinness E, Bowers LC, Didier ES, Giudice C, Perl DP, Fogarty U.A case of encephalitis of unknown origin in the horse was investigated. Postmortem examination findings revealed a nonsuppurative granulomatous meningoencephalitis in the right hemisphere of the cerebral cortex. Testing for West Nile virus, equine herpes virus, equine infectious anemia, , , and were negative. The horse had a titer for , and sections from the affected area of the brain tested positive for the organism using both polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry. Amplicons generated using PCR were sequenced, and genotype II was identified. This is the first case of gen...