Split Cord Malformation in a Thoroughbred Horse.
Abstract: We report a 9-year-old Thoroughbred gelding that had sudden onset lameness of the right forelimb with episodes of lateral decubitus and generalized pain after completion of a normal training session. The clinical signs subsequently became less pronounced with only mild right forelimb lameness. However, after further orthopaedic examination, it developed severe, acute ataxia and paraplegia, the Schiff-Sherrington phenomenon and risus sardonicus. At necropsy, a partial duplication of the cervical spinal cord was identified, consistent with split spinal cord malformation type II or diplomyelia. However, the clinical significance of this finding is not clear.
Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2021-08-12 PubMed ID: 34503656DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2021.07.003Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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This research looks at a case of a 9-year-old Thoroughbred horse that showed signs of unusual lameness and other symptoms after a training session, which was later identified as a partial duplication of the cervical spinal cord, a condition known as split spinal cord malformation type II or diplomyelia.
Case Study Presentation
- The paper describes a rare case of Split Cord Malformation (SCM) in a 9-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, that took place after a standard training routine. SCPM is a fission of the spinal cord into two halves that can lead to neurological signs.
Symptoms and Signs Observed
- A sudden lameness in the right forelimb was seen in the horse, followed by bouts of lateral decubitus or lying down on its side. There was also evidence of generalized pain.
- Over time, its symptoms slightly improved, and the horse displayed only a mild lameness in the right forelimb.
- Unfortunately, right after an additional orthopaedic examination, the horse experienced severe acute ataxia (loss of full control of bodily movements) and paraplegia (paralysis that affects all or part of the trunk, legs and pelvic organs).
- The horse also manifested the Schiff-Sherrington phenomenon (a rigid extension of the forelimbs because of an injury to the thoracolumbar spinal cord) and risus sardonicus (a sustained involuntary contortion of the face).
Necropsy Findings
- On performing a necropsy, a partial duplication of the horse’s cervical spinal cord was discovered. This condition is also known as diplomyelia or Split Spinal Cord Malformation type II.
- This condition, which is extremely unusual in horses, involves the presence of two spinal cords within one dural sac, resulting in the spinal cord appearing as though split in two down its length.
Conclusion
- Even though the partial spinal cord duplication was discovered, it is still not clear how this particular condition has a clinical significance, and how it is directly connected to the symptoms and subsequent demise of the horse.
Cite This Article
APA
De Jonge B, Dufourni A, Oosterlinck M, Chiers K.
(2021).
Split Cord Malformation in a Thoroughbred Horse.
J Comp Pathol, 187, 68-74.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcpa.2021.07.003 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, Bacteriology and Poultry Diseases, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium. Electronic address: bert.dejonge@ugent.be.
- Department of Large Animal Internal Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
- Department of Surgery and Anaesthesiology of Domestic Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, Bacteriology and Poultry Diseases, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Horse Diseases
- Horses
- Male
- Neural Tube Defects / veterinary
- Spinal Cord / pathology
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