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Bulger Veterinary Hospital
  • Our Services
    • Anesthesia & Pain Management
    • Cardiology
    • Dentistry
    • Diagnostic Imaging
    • Emergency/Critical Care
    • Exotics
    • Internal Medicine
    • Ophthalmology
    • Surgery
    • Primary Pet Care
      • Kitten Kit
      • Puppy Pack
      • Senior Pet Care
    • Theriogenology (Reproductive Health)
    • Compounding Pharmacy
    • Veterinary Urgent Care Near Here
  • For Your Pet
    • Client Registration Form
    • Curbside Emergency Care
    • Emergencies + Appointments
    • Client Portal
    • When Your Pet is a Patient
    • Pet Insurance
    • Payment Options
    • Online Store
    • End of Life Arrangements
    • Clinical Studies
  • For Veterinary Teams
    • Submit Referrals
    • At a Glance
    • Ethos Materials for Clinics
    • Continuing Education
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    • Clinical Studies
    • Compounding Pharmacy
  • About Us
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Our Blogs

Spinal Cord Disease

October 28, 2020

Written by: Izumi Toyoda, DVM, Residency Trained in Neurology, Ph.D.

In neurology service, we see many patients with spinal cord disease. The spinal cord is like an electric cable, connecting the brain and the rest of the body via electric signals! When transmission of electric information is interrupted due to spinal cord disease, it results in clinical signs such as back pain, difficulty walking/standing, or lack of sensation to the limbs.

There are many diseases that affect spinal cords, such as trauma, infection, immune-mediated inflammation, tumors, intervertebral disc herniation, degenerative, congenital, or developmental disease, just to name a few. A patient’s age, breed, history, and clinical exam findings would allow us to narrow down our list of differentials. However, we would need further diagnostics such as MRI, CT, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, biopsy, or sometimes electrophysiological studies to understand the underlying cause of the clinical signs and to decide on the best course of therapy for each patient.

Examples

Let’s look at three examples.
All three patients (age 2-6 years old) were presented to the Neurology Service at Vista Veterinary Specialists for clinical signs of spinal cord issues, ranging from difficulty walking on pelvic limbs with no pain (patient #1), neck pain and difficulty walking (patient #2), or only back pain (patient #3). They all had normal bloodwork and thoracic radiographs.

Finn
Daisy
Abby

Finn, a 2-year-old Biewer Terrier

Diagnosis: Meningomyelitis (immune-mediated inflammatory disease of spinal cord and meninges)

Treatment: Immunosuppressive therapy with steroid

 

 

 

Abby, a 6-year-old Dachshund

Diagnosis: Type I Intervertebral Disc Disease at C3-C4

Treatment: Ventral decompression surgery (“ventral slot”)

Spinal cord is compressed by herniated disc (left). Normal spinal cord without compression (right).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daisy, a 4-year-old Pit Bull mix

Diagnosis: Bacterial discospondylitis at T12-T13

Treatment: Long-term antibiotics and pain medications

Affected intervertebral disc and surrounding tissue show evidence of inflammation and marked reaction (left). Normal vertebra (right).

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Bulger Veterinary Hospital
978-725-5544 | 141 Winthrop Ave. Lawrence, MA 01843
  • 24-HR ER: 978-725-5544
  • Our Services
    • Anesthesia & Pain Management
    • Cardiology
    • Dentistry
    • Diagnostic Imaging
    • Emergency/Critical Care
    • Exotics
    • Internal Medicine
    • Ophthalmology
    • Surgery
    • Primary Pet Care
      • Kitten Kit
      • Puppy Pack
      • Senior Pet Care
    • Theriogenology (Reproductive Health)
    • Compounding Pharmacy
    • Veterinary Urgent Care Near Here
  • For Your Pet
    • Client Registration Form
    • Curbside Emergency Care
    • Emergencies + Appointments
    • Client Portal
    • When Your Pet is a Patient
    • Pet Insurance
    • Payment Options
    • Online Store
    • End of Life Arrangements
    • Clinical Studies
  • For Veterinary Teams
    • Submit Referrals
    • At a Glance
    • Ethos Materials for Clinics
    • Continuing Education
    • VetBloom CE
    • Clinical Studies
    • Compounding Pharmacy
  • About Us
    • Our Hospital
    • Our Team
    • Giving Back
    • Why Ethos
    • Ethos Discovery
    • Press Releases
    • Contact Us
  • Blogs & Videos
    • Our Blogs
    • PAWEDcasts
  • We’re Hiring!
    • Apply Today
    • Ethos Job Fairs
    • Benefits and Perks
    • Veterinary Training Programs
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