STANDING MYELOGRAPHY IN SIX ADULT HORSES

Abstract

Standing myelography was conducted in six neurologically normal adult horses. Myelograms were performed without general anesthesia or tranquilization. Four horses were premedicated orally with 2.2 milligrams/kilogram (mg/kg) of phenobarbital 16 hours and 4 hours prior to myelography to raise their seizure threshold. One‐hundred milliters (ml) of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) was withdrawn from the lumbosacral space prior to injection. Approximately 100 ml of technical grade metrizamide* was injected into the subarachnoid space via a lumbosacral tap. After injection the horse's head was lowered for approximately 10 minutes to facilitate cranial movement of the metrizamide. Lateral cervical radiographs were taken in a standing position. Filling of the subarachnoid space in the cranial cervical region was good to excellent in five horses. In one horse there was poor definition of the cranial cervical region. There was good to excellent filling of the subaranoid space in the caudal cervical region in all six horses. Reactions to metrizamide injection varied. The most severe reaction was generalized seizure.