PubMed ID: 8373859
Author(s): Trostle SS, Dubielzig RR, Beck KA. Examination of frozen cross sections of cervical spinal intersegments in nine horses with cervical vertebral malformation: lesions associated with spinal cord compression. J Vet Diagn Invest. 1993 Jul;5(3):423-31.
Journal: Journal Of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation : Official Publication Of The American Association Of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc, Volume 5, Issue 3, Jul 1993
Nine horses with clinical and radiographic findings of cervical vertebral malformation that were necropsied and examined using frozen cervical spinal cord cross sections were reviewed. Only cases with actual distortion of the spinal cord due to compression were selected. The goal of the study was to determine the morphologic features responsible for narrowing of the spinal canal and compression of the spinal cord. In individual cases, bony changes are associated with osteochondrosis and osteomyelitis of the dorsal articular facets and osteosclerosis of the dorsal cervical lamina. Soft tissue pathology associated with spinal cord compression included ligamentum flavum hypertrophy, joint capsule swelling and hypertrophy, and synovial cysts. In most cases, a combination of abnormalities was found in horses with spinal cord compression.