Disease etiology in horses refers to the study of the causes and development of diseases within equine populations. It encompasses various factors, including genetic predisposition, environmental influences, infectious agents, and nutritional imbalances, that contribute to the onset and progression of diseases in horses. Understanding disease etiology is essential for identifying risk factors and implementing preventative measures in equine health management. This topic includes research on pathogen-host interactions, the impact of management practices on disease incidence, and the role of genetic and environmental factors in disease susceptibility. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanisms, contributing factors, and implications of disease etiology in horses.
Button C, Gross DR, Allert JA, Kitzman JV.An Arabian crossbred foal was examined because of a suspected congenital cardiac anomaly. There was a grade V/V crescendo-decresendo holosystolic murmur and thrill in the left 4th intercostal space. The foal was slightly cyanotic and polycythemic. Electrocardiography suggested left ventricular hypertrophy. Angiography and cardiac and vascular pressure recordings led to a diagnosis of pulmonic stenosis. The foal died after cardiac bypass and corrective surgery. Postmortem examination revealed an enlarged right atrium, atresia of the tricuspid orifice, a large, fenestrated patent foramen ovale, ...
Pearson H, Weaver BM.The paper reports 6 cases of priapism with subsequent protrusion and paresis after neuroleptanalgesia and anaesthesia in horses. Five were ultimately treated by amputation of the penis but the sixth horse is responding satisfactorily to conservative treatment at the time of writing. Causative factors, preventive measures and possible methods of treatment are discussed.
Boersema JH.A horse with foot-mange failed to recover following a number of courses of treatment with coumaphos. Mites isolated from this horse were tested in vitro for their sensitivity to coumaphos and lindane. The mites were resistant to coumaphos and sensitive to lindane. Following treatment with lindane, the horse recovered within four weeks.
Roberts MC, Groenendyk S, Kelly WR.A 4 month old foal with right sided maxillary enlargement and considerable upper airway obstruction had an ameloblastic odontoma in the right maxillary sinus. This odontogenic tumour, probably congenital in nature, had extensively distorted the structure and contours of the sinus, and displaced the adjacent turbinates and nasal septum.
Stros K, Krivanec K, Komárek J, Malinský B.There is a description of equine dermatophytosis enzootic, caused by the microscopic fungus Trichophyton equinum. The disease affected 32 horses, mostly young, all in the same herd (74.4%). The diseased horses were successfully treated with the preparation Fenoform forte, applied superficially at the concentration of 0.5% of the active substance. The authors made an attempt to determine the criteria for clinical differentiation of fully developed trichophytosis and microsporosis of horses. Trichophytosis (T. equinum) is characterized as typical numerous small and round patches, covered by smal...
Rawlinson RJ, Jones RT.The history and clinical findings of 1 horses with guttural pouch mycosis referred to us are described. The salient features of the history and clinical signs common to both cases were profuse spontaneous nasal haemorrhage, partial pharyngeal paralysis; subsequently bilateral nasal discharge containing food material, inability to drink and parotid pain became evident. One case made a gradual recovery with conservative medical treatment while the second case was destroyed and submitted for post-mortem, histopathological and microbiological examination. This examination failed to establish the i...
Boles CL, Raker CW, Wheat JF.An abnormality of the epiglottis and arytenoepiglottic folds that caused epiglottic entrapment was diagnosed in 21 horses. Until recently, this entrapment was poorly understood. Definitive diagnosis of epiglottic entrapment can be made only by endoscopic examination of the epiglottis, arytenoepiglottic folds, and soft palate to differentiate the abnormality from dorsal displacement of the soft palate. Dorsal displacement of the soft palate is often associated with entrapped epiglottis. Epiglottic deformity, especially hypoplasia, is often associated with the entrapment. The abnormality was det...
Shefstad DK.The lesions caused by larvae of Gasterophilus intestinalis in the cardiac region of the equine stomach were funnel-shaped ulcers surrounded by a rim of hyperplastic epithelial cells. Bacteria were commonly seen on the rim of epithelial cells, at the base of some ulcers, and within the cavities produced by the hooks of the larvae. Cellular debris and mucus were within the ulcer.
Meuten DJ, Butler DG, Thomson GW, Lumsden JH.Chronic granulomatous enteritis associated with weight loss and hypoproteinemia was identified in 2 horses. Both horses continued to have normally formed feces. Malabsorption of carbohydrate and lipid, with concomitant gastrointestinal protein loss was demonstrated in 1 case. One horse was treated symptomatically and gained 108 kg. In both cases, principal gastrointestinal lesions were partial to total villus atrophy and transmural mononuclear leukocytosis, with lymphocytes and histiocytes predominating. The cause of the condition was not identified in either case.
Gilroy BJ, Lofstedt J, Pack L, McBurney SR.Sinus cysts are epithelium-lined, fluid-filled cavities that can occur in the paranasal sinuses of horses. Extensive damage to the permanent tooth buds was a significant feature in this case. The sequellae of these abnormalities, although not apparent at the time of presentation, remain an important consideration for prognosis.
Maier-Bock H, Ehrlein HJ.During a gradually increasing exercise test heart rates were determined in healthy animals and in 2 groups of sick horse. These included 31 animals with a chronic pulmonary disorder and 5 with chronic heart disease. The alteration in heart rate was correlated with the clinical signs exhibited. In the horses with lung disease there was a close correlation between the stage of the diseases and the heart rate during the exercise test. In 3 animals with heart valve disease there was no apparent difference in heart rate compared with healthy horses. On the other hand the exercising heart rate of ho...