Morphology in horses refers to the study of the form and structure of the equine body, including the skeletal, muscular, and integumentary systems. This field encompasses the examination of physical characteristics such as body conformation, limb structure, and cranial features, which can influence a horse's performance, health, and suitability for various activities or disciplines. Morphological assessments are often used in breeding programs to select for desirable traits and in veterinary evaluations to identify potential anatomical issues. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, findings, and implications of morphological studies in equine science.
Maśko M, Wierzbicka M, Zdrojkowski Ł, Jasiński T, Sikorska U, Pawliński B, Domino M.Since donkey breeding has increased due to their variety of uses, welfare evaluation has become more important. This study aimed to compare donkey, pony, and horse dorsal profiles and head shapes using geometric morphometrics (GM). Photographs of 14 donkeys, 14 ponies, and 14 horses were analyzed using GM, including the sliding semilandmarks method. The variations in the first three principal components (PCs) were PC1: 57.16%, PC2: 16.05%, and PC3: 8.31% for the dorsal profiles and PC1: 44.77%, PC2: 13.46%, and PC3: 7.66% for the head shapes. Both the dorsal profiles and head shapes differed b...
Hyde KA, Aguiar FLN, Alves BG, Alves KA, Gastal GDA, Gastal MO, Gastal EL.Characterization of the ovarian preantral follicle population is a necessary step to improve understanding of folliculogenesis and ovarian physiology. Therefore, in the present study, the preantral follicle population in the equine ovary in young and old mares was investigated according to follicular morphology, follicular class, distance from the geometric center using ovarian maps, and follicular density within ovarian portions (lateral vs intermediary) and regions (dorsal vs ventral). Ovaries were collected from an abattoir and histologically processed for evaluation, and the follicle popul...
Hopster K, Watkins AR, Hurcombe SD.To compare the antinociceptive effects of morphine administered via cervical epidural catheter to intravenously administered morphine using a thermal threshold (TT) testing model in healthy adult horses. Methods: Prospective, randomized, blinded experimental study. Methods: A total of six university-owned adult horses. Methods: Horses were instrumented with a cervical (C1-C2) epidural catheter and TT testing device with probes at withers and thoracic limb coronary bands. All horses underwent three TT testing cycles including cervical epidural morphine administration (treatment EpiM; 0.1 mg kg-...
Clauss M, Heck L, Veitschegger K, Geiger M.There are different descriptions of allometric relationships between important components of the mammalian skull. Craniofacial evolutionary allometry describes a pattern of increasing facial cranium in larger skulls. Another body of literature describes disproportionately larger teeth in smaller species or specimens, matching anecdotal observations with dental problems in dwarf breeds whose teeth appear "too large for their skulls." We test the scaling of tooth row length with body size and skull length in a data set comprising 114 domestic horses (representing 40 breeds) and in another data ...
José Antonio G, Jim S, Ramés SJ, Rohrbach BW, Alejandro Rodríguez M, Laura Romero R, Robert D.To examine changes occurring in normal pelvic suspensory ligaments (SLs) of horses after denervating these ligaments and to investigate the effect chronic inflammation might have on these changes. Methods: 10 horses. Methods: The SL of 1 randomly selected pelvic limb of each of 5 horses was injected with collagenase to induce desmitis, and 42 days later, the proximal aspect of both pelvic SLs were denervated. The SLs were harvested 120 days after being denervated, and the morphological and histological characteristics of each collagenase-injected, denervated SL were compared with those of the ...
Diana A, Freccero F, Giancola F, Linta N, Pietra M, Luca V, Salamanca G, Cipone M, Chiocchetti R.Ultrasonographic morphometry of wall layers is commonly used in veterinary patients with suspected small intestinal disease, however published studies comparing this method with histopathology in horses are limited. This prospective, methods comparison study compared the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of small intestinal wall layers using ex vivo high-frequency ultrasound versus histopathology in a sample of 16 horses. Transverse section images of duodenum, distal jejunum, and ileum were acquired with a high-frequency linear transducer (7-15 MHz). Transverse histological cryosec...
Gudea A, Martonos C, Cosma C, Stan F.Archeozoological studies provide an insight into human-environment relations, bringing important information on the morphology of the animal and the role of the animal and its functions. The purpose of this study was to reveal the morphological characteristics of the horse identified in an 8th century BC Avar cemetery dated, as it resulted from the investigation carried out on the materials presented to the Anatomy Lab of Department of Comparative Anatomy. The cleaning and conditioning of the materials were performed in the lab, followed by anatomical and osteometrical study. The identificatio...
Ginther OJ.Intrauterine mobility of the fetal-amniotic unit is unique in equids among domestic species. Intrinsic activity begins as head nods on ∼ Day 40 (Day 0 = ovulation) and by Day 60 has progressed into intermittent subtle to vigorous head, neck, limb, and body movements. On Days 60-100, fetal mobility is maximal with traveling of the fetal-amniotic unit throughout an allantoic pool that encompasses the uterine horns, and uterine body. The fetus may be entirely within one uterine horn with the horn entrance closed behind it, and then may work through the entrance into the uterine body. Mobility...
Madkour FA, Abdelsabour-Khalaf M.Veterinary forensics have attracted less attention compared with human forensics. Animal hair morphological examination using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and hair mineral analysis using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) provide reference databases for animal hair identification used in forensic investigations. This study was performed on four different animal species: large ruminants (buffalo and cattle), small ruminants (goat and sheep), carnivores (cat and dog), and equines (donkey and horse). The hair scale pattern, scale margin type, and distance between scales were iden...
Lançoni R, Celeghini ECC, Gonella-Diaza AM, Júnior VG, de Carvalho CPT, Zoca GB, Garcia-Oliveros LN, Batissaco L, Oliveira LZ, de Arruda RP.This study aimed to assess the semen ubiquitin levels of stallions with good (GF) and poor semen freezability (PF) and to evaluate the relationship between sperm ubiquitination and sperm morphological defects. Five ejaculates from eight adult stallions (n = 40) were collected and cryopreserved. Then, the ubiquitin level in equine sperm cells was assessed by immunohistochemistry with epifluorescence microscopy, and sperm morphology was assessed by differential interference contrast microscopy. Sperm cells were classified according to the intensity (classification 1: from I to IV; I = very l...
Mahlobo-Shwabede SIC, Zishiri OT, Thekisoe OMM, Bakkes D, Bohloa L, Molomo M, Makalo MJR, Mahloane GR, Mtshali MS.A total of 3311 tick specimens were randomly collected from domestic animals including cattle, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, and dogs from Lesotho districts namely, Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing and Thaba Tseka. Tick species were identified morphologically and verified by amplification and sequencing of the CO1 and 18S rRNA genes. Nine species were identified under different genera namely, Haemaphysalis elliptica 0.1% (n = 2), Hyalomma rufipes 2.6% (n = 87), Hy. truncatum 1.2% (n = 41), Otobius megnini 13.6% (n = 451), Rh...
Sillence M, Meier A, de Laat M, Klee R, Reiche D.Although several studies have investigated factors associated with the onset and occurrence of hyperinsulinaemia-associated laminitis (HAL), few have examined the factors associated with the rate of improvement during recovery from an acute bout of the disease. This observational study sought to discover if a range of demographic, morphologic, hormonal and metabolic variables are associated with the improvement rate from HAL in 37 naturally-occurring cases identified by 16 clinics across Germany. Each case was evaluated for laminitis severity on the day of inclusion in the trial (d 0), then af...
Hagen A, Holland H, Brandt VP, Doll CU, Häußler TC, Melzer M, Moellerberndt J, Lehmann H, Burk J.Platelet lysate (PL) is an attractive platelet-based therapeutic tool and has shown promise as xeno-free replacement for fetal bovine serum (FBS) in human and equine mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) culture. Here, we established a scalable buffy-coat-based protocol for canine PL (cPL) production (n = 12). The cPL was tested in canine adipose MSC (n = 5) culture compared to FBS. For further comparison, equine adipose MSC (n = 5) were cultured with analogous equine PL (ePL) or FBS. During canine blood processing, platelet and transforming growth factor-β1 concentrations increased ( < 0.05 and < ...
Emmert BJ, Robison CI, Pritchard A, Nielsen BD.Digital radiographs are common for estimating bone mineral content (BMC) in horses with radiographic bone aluminum equivalents (RBAE). Processing algorithms are used to produce clearer images of digital radiographs in clinical settings, but this distorts RBAE. This study compared RBAE from digital radiographs to BMC from bone ash, and physical and digital morphology measurements. Digital radiographs were taken of six third metacarpals (MCIII) from equine cadavers with an aluminum step wedge penetrometer. A 2-cm transverse section of bone was digitally analyzed and excised from each MCIII. For ...
Khazaeel K, Pesarakli H, Mashhadi AG, Borujeni MP.Accurate estimation of a horse's age based on the condition of the tooth status is necessary as a scientific and artistic technique, which has not been performed so far in pure Arabian horses of Khuzestan (southern west of Iran). This study aimed to investigate the age-dependent changes in the morphology and morphometry of the incisors in Arabian mares of Khuzestan to estimate age and to compare the estimated dental age and actual age. In this study, 78 Arabian mares of Khuzestan were examined in several equestrian clubs. Then, images were taken with a digital camera from the vestibular and oc...
de Oliveira Bussiman F, Carvalho RSB, E Silva FF, Ventura RV, Ferraz JBS, Mattos EC, Eler JP, Balieiro JCC.Multitrait models can increase the accuracy of breeding value prediction and reduce bias due to selection by using traits measured before and after it has occurred. However, as the number of traits grows, a similar trend is expected for the number of parameters to be estimated, which directly affects the computing power and the amount of data required. The aim of the present study was to apply reduced rank (principal components model-PCM) and factor analytical models (FAM), to estimate (co)variance components for nineteen traits, jointly evaluated in a single analysis in Campolina horses. A to...
Lagos J, Rojas M, Tadich T.Suitability and physical attributes of working mules are important features that can affect management, performance, and welfare. The aim of this study was to assess the morphology of working mules used in the Chilean army and determine if they adjust to soldier's preference and perceptions of their ideal pack mule. A total of 16 morphometric traits were measured per mule and six morphofunctional indexes calculated in 60 mules. Perception and preferences for the ideal mule in 73 soldiers was assessed through a questionnaire. The questionnaire included one closed-ended question where the ideal ...
Lanci A, Ingrà L, Dondi F, Tomasello F, Teti G, Mariella J, Falconi M, Castagnetti C.Exfoliative cytology of human amniotic fluid (AF) has been extensively studied since 1940s, but no data exist in equine species. The AF compartment represents the environment in which the foetus grows and matures, and its composition changes, reflecting foetal well-being and development. The aim of this study was to describe for the first time the morphology of equine AF cells and amniotic membrane (AM) with light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). AF was collected at parturition within 5 min after the appearance of the AM with a 60 mL syringe from 34 mares and sampl...
Bravo Mendiburt G, Agostini V, Cañete Betancourt G.In this paper a morphological differentiation tool of bovine and equine hair for their identification in forensic investigations is provided. 30 animals were used, fifteen adult bovines of the "Siboney de Cuba" breed and fifteen adult equines of the "Criolla" breed. These species are the most bred in Cuba and, at the same time, the most exposed to poaching and theft crimes. Hair from the cows was sampled from the dorsal region, the lateral region and the ventral region; on the other hand, the horses' hair was sampled from the dorsal region of the body, of the mane and of the tail. The sampled ...
Hanot P, Bayarsaikhan J, Guintard C, Haruda A, Mijiddorj E, Schafberg R, Taylor W.The potential of artificial selection to dramatically impact phenotypic diversity is well known. Large-scale morphological changes in domestic species, emerging over short timescales, offer an accelerated perspective on evolutionary processes. The domestic horse (Equus caballus) provides a striking example of rapid evolution, with major changes in morphology and size likely stemming from artificial selection. However, the microevolutionary mechanisms allowing to generate this variation in a short time interval remain little known. Here, we use 3D geometric morphometrics to quantify skull morph...
Goodarzi N, Zehtabvar O, Tohidifar M.This study was conducted to present a comprehensive and integrative computed tomography (CT) - anatomical cross sections atlas of skull, volumetric properties of the paranasal sinuses, and morphometric values for surface cranial nerves in the adult Arabian horse. Ten heads of Arabian horse breed were used. The different structures in the nasal, oral and cranial cavities were determined and labelled in the anatomical sections and their corresponding CT scan images. Three paranasal sinuses namely maxillary, conchofrontal and sphenopalatine sinuses were identified in the CT scan images. The cauda...
Pérez-Castrillo S, González-Fernández ML, Gutiérrez-Velasco L, Villar-Suárez V.To characterize the ultrastructure of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that were harvested from the adipose tissue (AT-MSCs) and bone marrow (BM-MSCs) of horses and transfected with green fluorescent protein. Methods: MSCs from adipose tissue and bone marrow of 6 adult female Hispano-Bretón horses. Methods: Harvested equine MSCs were cultivated and transfected with green fluorescent protein, and the immunophenotypes of the MSCs were characterized by use of anti-CD90 and anti-CD105 monoclonal antibodies. When stable transfection of MSCs was achieved, the morphological and ultrastructural characte...
Parés-Casanova PM.Morphological integration and modularity are concepts that refer to the covariation level between the components of a structure. Morphological modules are independent subsets of highly correlated traits. The horse skull has been studied as a whole functional structure for decades, but the integrative approach towards quantitative examination of modules is scarce. We report here the first evaluation of cranial modularity in the horse at basal level. For this, we studied the modularity hypothesis for splanchnocranium and basicranium modules in the horse, two phenotipic regions under local influe...
Bernor RL, Cirilli O, Bukhsianidze M, Lordkipanidze D, Rook L.The Equus datum has been established as a geochronologic 'instantaneous' migratory event of a North American Equus species into Eurasia at the beginning of the Pleistocene (2.58 Ma). A remarkable radiation of Equus followed across Eurasia and Africa. Dmanisi includes excellent remains of Equus, well calibrated between 1.85 and 1.76 Ma. Our morphologic and morphometric analyses of the augmented Dmanisi Equus sample support the co-occurrence of Equus stenonis and Equus altidens in the sequence. Dmanisi E. stenonis is found to be morphologically similar to the European E. stenonis populations a...
Rocchigiani G, Ricci E, Navarro MA, Samol MA, Uzal FA.Healthy horses and other animals have large numbers of resident leukocytes in the intestinal wall, but there is scant information regarding which and how many leukocytes are normally present in the equine intestinal wall. Our aim was to provide a reference range of leukocytes in the intestinal mucosal and submucosal propria of normal horses. We included in our study intestinal tissues from 22 Thoroughbred racehorses with no clinical intestinal disease, which had been euthanized because of catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries. Neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, macrophages, and plasma cell...
Gómez-Torres F, Ruíz-Sauri A.The His bundle is a part of the specialized electrical conduction system that provides a connection between the atrial and ventricular myocardial compartments in both normal and abnormal hearts. The aim of this study was to perform a morphometric analysis of His bundle characteristics of in humans, dogs, horses and pigs and compare them in these studied species. Histological sections of 5 μm thickness were obtained and stained with hematoxylin-eosin and Masson's trichrome; the desmin and periodic acid-Schiff methods were also used for precise identification of cells. The His bundle was found...
López-Sanromán FJ, Freilich GM, Gomez-Cisneros D, Varela M, Santiago I, Manso-Díaz G.The objective of the present study was to compare, using accelerometry, the gait changes produced after administration of a dose of 0.2 mg/kg of morphine at the walk in healthy horses. Six mature horses were used, and all animals received two different treatments with, at least, two weeks interval in between. Treatments administered consisted of a single dose of 10 ml of saline solution or a total of 0.2 mg/kg of morphine diluted in 10 ml of saline solution. A three-dimensional accelerometric device was used to collect data continuously while horses were walking. The walking test was performed...
Camargo Ferreira J, Silva Amaral R, Mara Cardoso L, Panelli Marchió S, Aldrovani Rodrigues M, Fonseca Alves CE, de Meira C.Ozone (O ) therapy has been used to improve peripheral tissue oxygenation in humans and domestic animals. The goal of the present study was to characterize histological changes in the endometria of healthy equines following tissue exposure to gas mixtures enriched with different concentrations of O . Cycling mares without endometrial degeneration were divided into three groups according to treatment (n = 9 mares/group). The uteri from the O , ½O and control groups were insufflated for 3 min with gas containing 42, 21 and 0 μg O ml , respectively. Treatments were performed every three da...
Alves BG, Alves KA, Hyde KA, Aguiar FLN, Souza SS, Brandão FAS, Garcia EC, Pinto Y, Gastal MO, Figueiredo JR, Teixeira DIA, Gastal EL.Ovarian tissue transplantation (OTT) is a technique well established and successfully applied in humans using mainly orthotopic or heterotopic transplantation sites. In livestock, OTT is still in its infancy and, therefore, different aspects of the technique, including the efficiency of different heterotopic OTT sites as well as the potential effect of age (i.e., young vs. old mares) in the ovarian graft quality, need to be investigated. The present study investigated the efficacy of the intramuscular (IM) or the novel subvulvar mucosa (SV) heterotopic autotransplantation sites to maintain the...
Kefena E, Rosenbom S, Beja-Pereira A, Kurtu MY, Han JL, Dessie T.We investigated the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of six morphologically distinct Ethiopian donkey populations using 12 equine microsatellite markers. The donkey populations were Abyssinian (AB), Afar (AF), Hararghe (HA), Ogaden (OG), Omo (OM) and Sinnar (SI). Blood samples were collected from 180 genetically unrelated donkeys (30 individuals per population). Population genetic diversity estimates showed that total number and mean number of observed alleles, average observed and expected heterozygosity were 94, 5.208 ± 0.0229, 0.555 ± 0.023 and 0.588 ± 0.022, respective...
Kilic S, Dixon PM, Kempson SA.Gross and microscopic examinations were undertaken on 46 cheek (molar and premolar) and 4 incisor equine teeth that were fractured, or sectioned either with a lathe or diamond saw. Specimens were examined without treatment, after decalcification or acid etching, utilising light, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. In some horses, the occlusal surface of the teeth were covered with an organic pellicle. The occlusal surface of the underlying equine enamel contained different wear patterns, including polished areas, local fractures, wedge-shaped pits, striations and depressions. Oc...
Signer-Hasler H, Neuditschko M, Koch C, Froidevaux S, Flury C, Burger D, Leeb T, Rieder S.Hereditary variations in head morphology and head malformations are known in many species. The most common variation encountered in horses is maxillary prognathism. Prognathism and brachygnathism are syndromes of the upper and lower jaw, respectively. The resulting malocclusion can negatively affect teeth wear, and is considered a non-desirable trait in breeding programs. We performed a case-control analysis for maxillary prognathism in horses using 96 cases and 763 controls. All horses had been previously genotyped with a commercially available 50 k SNP array. We analyzed the data with a mixe...
Kobayashi K, Jackowiak H, Frackowiak H, Yoshimura K, Kumakura M, Kobayashi K.A common characteristic of horses, Rocky Mountain goats, and cattle is that they all have a well developed lingual prominence on the dorsal surface of the posterior area of the tongue. Foliate papillae were found in the horse studied but not in the goat or in cattle. The horse filiform papillae had a long and slender external form with a thin and slender CTC, while in the goat and cattle the external form consisted of a large thick main process and the CTC consisted of a bundle of numerous rod-shaped protrusions. The special papilla found on the lingual prominence resembled larger filiform-lik...
Martinelli MJ, Eurell J, Les CM, Fyhrie D, Bennett D.Although there are many studies in the equine literature focused on articular diseases and the aetiology of osteoarthritis, few have concentrated on normal articular structures and how they change with age. The objective of this investigation was to study the thickness and morphology of the calcified cartilage layer of the distal metacarpus over a range of ages. A parasagittal slab of bone was sectioned from the region of sesamoid contact on the medial condyle of the metacarpi from 34 horses. The slab of bone was preserved, dehydrated and embedded, undecalcified, in methylmethacrylate and then...
Townson DH, Pierson RA, Ginther OJ.Plasma progesterone concentrations in mares were determined in two experiments during the time that the luteal glands were detectable by transrectal ultrasonography. In both experiments, corpora lutea were classified into two types of morphologies based on their ultrasonic appearance: centrally nonechogenic luteal glands (fluid-filled) and uniformly echogenic luteal glands (non-fluid-filled). In Experiment 1, daily blood samples were taken from horse mares during August through October and May through July. There were no significant effects of season or luteal morphology on progesterone concen...
Ochoa R, Kern SR.Severe abdominal pain, classic colic signs and hemorrhagic gastro-entero-cecocolitis were induced in three conventional Shetland ponies by intravenous injection with Clostridium perfringens Type A enterotoxin. Histological examination showed marked congestion, edema and hemorrhage of the large and small intestine and sloughing of the tips of the intestinal villi. Marked vacuolar degeneration of hepatocytes with dilatation of the spaces of Disse also was found. Clinical changes consisted of severe hypoglycemia, markedly increased aspartate aminotransferase levels and leukopenia that occurred ra...
Clauss M, Heck L, Veitschegger K, Geiger M.There are different descriptions of allometric relationships between important components of the mammalian skull. Craniofacial evolutionary allometry describes a pattern of increasing facial cranium in larger skulls. Another body of literature describes disproportionately larger teeth in smaller species or specimens, matching anecdotal observations with dental problems in dwarf breeds whose teeth appear "too large for their skulls." We test the scaling of tooth row length with body size and skull length in a data set comprising 114 domestic horses (representing 40 breeds) and in another data ...
Brito LF, Greene LM, Kelleman A, Knobbe M, Turner R.The objective of this study was to determine the effects of method and clinician on stallion sperm morphology evaluation. Five clinicians evaluated 60 semen samples using wet-mount preparations with phase-contrast, eosin/nigrosin-stained semen smears, and Papanicolaou-stained semen smears. There were significant differences among methods for all sperm morphology categories and most intra-class correlation coefficients were only fair to moderate. The use of wet-mount preparations facilitated detection of acrosome defects, nuclear vacuoles, and cytoplasmic droplets when compared to stained smear...
Lanci A, Ingrà L, Dondi F, Tomasello F, Teti G, Mariella J, Falconi M, Castagnetti C.Exfoliative cytology of human amniotic fluid (AF) has been extensively studied since 1940s, but no data exist in equine species. The AF compartment represents the environment in which the foetus grows and matures, and its composition changes, reflecting foetal well-being and development. The aim of this study was to describe for the first time the morphology of equine AF cells and amniotic membrane (AM) with light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). AF was collected at parturition within 5 min after the appearance of the AM with a 60 mL syringe from 34 mares and sampl...
Boujon CE, Bestetti GE, Meier HP, Straub R, Junker U, Rossi GL.Clinico-pathological correlations in horses with pituitary adenomas are poorly understood. This paper describes the functional and morphological features of five cases of equine pituitary adenoma and of a case of multinodular pituitary hyperplasia. New findings reported include immunoreactivity for beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH), beta-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (beta-MSH), gamma 3-MSH, prolactin (PRL), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in neoplastic cells of the pituitary adenoma; and, in the multinodular hyperplasia, beta-LPH, beta-endorphin (beta-END), alpha-MSH, beta-MSH, gamma 3-MSH a...
Braune S, Walter M, Schulze F, Lendlein A, Jung F.For in vitro studies assessing the interaction of platelets with implant materials, common and standardized protocols for the preparation of platelet rich plasma (PRP) are lacking, which may lead to non-matching results due to the diversity of applied protocols. Particularly, the aging of platelets during prolonged preparation and storage times is discussed to lead to an underestimation of the material thrombogenicity. Here, we study the influence of whole blood- and PRP-storage times on changes in platelet morphology and function. Blood from apparently healthy subjects was collected according...
Gene mutations influencing melanocytes also impact on physiological and behavioural functions. In this study, we investigated their association with four different coat colours in the Pura Raza Español (PRE) horse using morphological traits and molecular datasets. Four different subpopulations were identified according to individual coat colour: grey, bay, chestnut and black. Coat colour significantly associated with morphological measurements. Observed and expected heterozygosity values were low in grey compared with the other three subpopulations, suggesting the presence of unique ancestral...
Ledbetter EC, Scarlett JM.To describe morphologic features, pachymetry and endothelial cell density of the normal equine cornea and limbus by in vivo confocal microscopy. Methods: Ten horses without ocular disease. Methods: The central and peripheral corneas were examined with a modified Heidelberg Retina Tomograph II and Rostock Cornea Module using a combination of automated and manual image acquisition modes. Thickness measurements of various corneal layers were performed and endothelial cell density determined. Results: Images of the constituent cellular and noncellular elements of the corneal epithelium, stroma, en...
Alrtib AM, Philip CJ, Abdunnabi AH, Davies HM.There are many reports describing fractures in the bony elements of the equine fetlock joint and a few of these discuss possible relationships of these fractures to the mechanical loading of these bones. The likelihood of fracture must be related to the size and shape of bones involved, but information concerning the normal range in size and shape of these bones in horses is lacking. This study aimed to identify morphometrical variations of these bones within different groups of horses. Right and left metacarpal, proximal phalangeal and proximal sesamoid bones were collected from 10 Thoroughbr...
Johnston C, Holmt K, Faber M, Erichsen C, Eksell P, Drevemo S.The relationship between structure and function is important in the judgement of the horse. Twenty sound riding horses walked and trotted on a treadmill. The movement of the backs of each of the horses was measured using a commercially available movement analysis system. Morphometric, spatiotemporal and kinematic information were correlated to investigate the effect of conformation on movement. Taller and heavier horses seem to have longer thoracic and lumbar backs, and are wider at the pelvis. Horses with longer strides extended and flexed their backs in the caudal saddle region to a greater ...
Suske A, Pöschke A, Müller P, Wöber S, Staszyk C.Incomplete cemental filling of the infundibula of equine maxillary cheek teeth (CT) is a common feature. Depending on the extent of the defect, three stages of infundibular decay have been suggested. However, histomorphological criteria to identify non-pathological abnormalities and destructive changes have not been defined. Six hundred and eighty eight CT with no evidence of dental diseases and 55 diseased permanent, fully erupted maxillary CT were evaluated on a macroscopic level by assessing the occlusal surface and horizontal sections, including porphyrin assays to detect residual blood wi...
Veronesi MC, Villani M, Wilsher S, Contri A, Carluccio A.The aim of the study was to compare horse and donkey placentae using stereological techniques. Term placentae were collected at spontaneous foaling from seven Thoroughbred mares, seven pony mares, and six jenny donkeys. Maternal and foal weights were recorded and the mass, volume, and gross area of each allantochorion was also recorded. Ten random biopsies were recovered and processed for light microscopy from which the surface density of the microcotyledons (S(v)) and the total microscopic area of fetomaternal contact were calculated stereologically. Gestation length was longer in the donkeys...
Kilic S, Dixon PM, Kempson SA.Ultrastructural examinations showed the diameter of cement lacunae to be greater in infundibular cement than in peripheral cement of upper cheek teeth, which in turn was greater than in the peripheral cement of the lower cheek teeth. However, numbers of lacunae/unit area remained similar in these 3 dentinal region. Two types of cemental hypoplasia were found in equine cheek teeth. The first type was termed central infundibular cemental hypoplasia and was confined to the central region of infundibular cement. The cement adjacent to these frequently large defects was very porous and contained la...
Zedda M, Lepore G, Biggio GP, Gadau S, Mura E, Farina V.A high number of differences exist in bone histological features depending on the species, breed, age and bone. Moreover, osteon distribution may vary in the different sides of a bone as a consequence of different biomechanical strains. The aim of this work was to study the distribution and morphology of osteons in different sides of the equine femoral diaphysis with the attempt to correlate them to the main strains operating on them. The following parameters of secondary osteons and Haversian canals were measured in the transverse sections of diaphyses: perimeter, area, minimum and maximum di...
Suliman Y, Becker F, Tuchscherer A, Wimmers K.Horses are seasonal breeders with a natural breeding season beginning in spring and extending through midsummer. In this study, quantitative and qualitative parameters of chilled stallion semen were compared between fertile and subfertile stallions and between the breeding and the non-breeding season. Semen quality parameters compared included ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, total sperm number, sperm morphology, and computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA)-derived sperm movement characteristics obtained from two groups of warmblood stallions ( ; four fertile stallions and four subfert...
Liuti T, Reardon R, Smith S, Dixon PM.Infection of the dorsal nasal conchal bulla and ventral nasal conchal bulla has recently been shown to cause clinical disease in horses, but the anatomy of these 2 structures is poorly documented. Objective: To describe the anatomical features, dimensions and relationships to adjacent structures of the dorsal conchal bulla and ventra conchal bulla in normal horses using computed tomography (CT). Methods: Descriptive imaging study using cadavers. Methods: Computed tomographic images acquired from 60 equine cadaver heads that were shown to be free of sinonasal disease were categorised into 3 age...
Lee KH, Park C, Kim J, Moon C, Ahn M, Shin T.The morphological characteristics and glycoconjugate composition of the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of the horse was investigated using histological, immunohistochemical, and lectin histochemical methods. The VNO is bilaterally located at the base of the nasal septum, has a tubular structure surrounded by cartilage, and consists of sensory and non-sensory epithelia. Immunohistochemical examination showed that the vomeronasal sensory epithelium (VSE) consisted of receptor cells positive for both olfactory marker protein (OMP) and protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5), supporting cells, and basal cells...
Pickles K, Pirie RS, Rhind S, Dixon PM, McGorum BC.Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples are often subject to time delays, possibly with temperature fluctuations, between collection and processing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of time, temperature and 2 different fixatives on equine BALF cytology, in order to develop guidelines for optimal equine BALF storage conditions. Total nucleated cell count (TCC), differential cell counts (DCC), absolute cell counts (ACC), cell viability, cell morphology and bacterial growth of BALF samples stored at 4, 18 (+/- addition of formalin- or alcohol-based fixatives) and 38 degrees C...
Abdelhamid L, Hussein H, Ghanem M, Eissa N.Retinoic acid (RA), an active metabolite of vitamin A, has shown potential therapeutic immunomodulatory properties. Allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-based therapy is an effective approach to induce tissue healing and regeneration in many equine orthopedic conditions. However, MSCs-based therapies induced inflammatory responses in vivo. This study aimed to: 1. Determine the effect of RA cell culture treatment on inflammatory responses of lipopolysaccharides (LPS)- and allogeneic MSCs-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). 2. Determine the effect of RA on stimulated MSCs ...
Stanley RL, Goodship AE, Edwards B, Firth EC, Patterson-Kane JC.The injury-prone, energy-storing equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) of the mature performance horse has a limited ability to respond to exercise in contrast with the noninjury-prone, anatomically opposing common digital extensor tendon (CDET). Previous studies have indicated low levels of cellular activity in the mature SDFT, but in foal tendons the tenocytes may still have the ability to adapt positively to increased exercise. Objective: To measure tenocyte densities and types in histological sections from the SDFT and CDET of horses from controlled long-term, short-term and foal...
Nelis H, D'Herde K, Goossens K, Vandenberghe L, Leemans B, Forier K, Smits K, Braeckmans K, Peelman L, Van Soom A.Equine embryos remain for 6 days in the oviduct and thus there is a need for an in vitro model to study embryo-oviductal interactions in the horse, since this subtle way of communication is very difficult to analyse in vivo. Until now, no equine oviduct explant culture model has been characterised both morphologically and functionally. Therefore, we established a culture system for equine oviduct explants that maintained epithelial morphology during 6 days of culture, as revealed by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. We demonstrated the presence of highly differentiated, ta...
Jones KE.The thoracolumbar region is clinically important in horses; however, the link between joint mobility and bony joint morphology has not been tested quantitatively. Objective: To establish which aspects of vertebral morphology correlate with ex vivo range of motion in the thoracolumbar region of Equus caballus, and demonstrate methodologies for linking vertebral form and function. Methods: Morphometric study of osteological specimens. Methods: A digital model was created of a disarticulated thoracolumbar region to examine bone-to-bone interactions during in silico bending. Linear measurements a...
Ploeg M, Gröne A, Saey V, de Bruijn CM, Back W, van Weeren PR, Scheideman W, Picavet T, Ducro BJ, Wijnberg I, Delesalle C.Megaesophagus appears to be more common in Friesian horses than in other breeds. A prevalence of approximately 2% was observed among Friesian horses presented to the Wolvega Equine Clinic and the Utrecht University Equine Clinic. In this study, morphologic changes in the esophagi of Friesian horses with megaesophagus were compared with those of 6 control horses. Of 18 horses with clinically observed megaesophagus, only 12 animals had esophageal dilation at necropsy, usually involving the thoracic portion. Muscular hypertrophy of the distal esophagus was present in only one-third of the affecte...
Morsy K, Bashtar AR, Al Quraishy S, Adel S.Parasitic gastroenteritis (PGE) caused by infection of the gut with parasitic nematodes is one of the most important diseases of livestock animals from both financial and welfare perspectives. Parascaris equorum and Habronema microstoma are of the most endemic nematodes of the world which are currently the major cause of PGE of the domestic horses in Egypt. The present investigation introduced the first morphological description of these nematodes recovered from the domestic horse, Equus ferus caballus (Equidae), in Egypt by light and scanning electron microscopy. Seven P. equorum (fifth stage...
Skedros JG, Dayton MR, Sybrowsky CL, Bloebaum RD, Bachus KN.It has been hypothesized that a major objective of morphological adaptation in limb-bone diaphyses is the achievement of uniform regional safety factors between discrete cortical locations (e.g. between cranial and caudal cortices at mid-diaphysis). This hypothesis has been tested, and appears to be supported in the diaphyses of ovine and equine radii. The present study more rigorously examined this question using the equine third metacarpal (MC3), which has had functionally generated intracortical strains estimated by a sophisticated finite element model. Mechanical properties of multiple mid...
