Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Split Cord Malformation in a Thoroughbred Horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of comparative pathology
- Year:
- 2021
- Authors:
- De Jonge, Bert et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Pathology
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old Thoroughbred gelding suddenly started limping on his right front leg after a normal training session and showed signs of pain and difficulty getting up. Over time, the limping became less severe, but then he developed serious issues with coordination and became unable to use his back legs, along with some unusual muscle contractions. After he passed away, a detailed examination revealed a condition called split spinal cord malformation type II, which means there was a partial duplication of his spinal cord. However, it's not clear how much this condition contributed to his symptoms.
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.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34503656/