Intestinal hemangiomas in 8 horses.

The researchers present a study that retrospectively examines eight cases of intestinal hemangioma, a type of vascular tumor, found in horses. The tumors were diagnosed either during post-mortem examinations or surgical biopsies, with all instances showing the intestine as the only affected organ.

Study Details

• The research is a retrospective study that looks back at the diagnosed cases of intestinal hemangioma in horses at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.
• This study provides a comprehensive description of the location, appearance and composition of these hemangiomas.

Findings

• All diagnosed cases saw the intestine as the sole organ affected by these vascular tumors.
• The tumors were either focal, affecting a single location (in 3 out of 8 cases), or multifocal, affecting multiple locations (in 5 out of 8 cases).
• Out of these cases, the small intestine was most frequently affected (7 out of 8 cases), particularly the jejunum (5 out of 7 cases), followed by the left dorsal colon in one case.
• The latter case marks the first reported instance of an intestinal hemangioma in the large colon of a horse.

Characteristics of Hemangiomas

• The hemangiomas were identified as discrete, raised, smooth tumors exhibiting colors from black to red and sizing anywhere between 2mm to 15mm in diameter.
• Under microscopic examination, the lesions were categorized as the cavernous type and were most commonly found within the muscularis layer of the intestine (6 out of 8 cases).

Demographic Information

• The study shows the incidence of these hemangiomas to be more prevalent in middle-aged to older horses, with the average age being 19.3 years. However, no specific trends concerning the breed or sex of the horses were identified.
• In summation, these hemangiomas were considered incidental findings, suggesting that they were discovered accidentally during routine checks or treatments for other conditions, and not because the horses showed outward symptoms related to the hemangiomas.