Clinical and MRI findings can help predict outcome in dogs with acute noncompressive nucleus pulposus extrusions.

Syringohydromyelia secondary to foramen magnum overcrowding is described in seven Cavalier King Charles spaniels. Clinical signs were consistent with a central spinal cord lesion. The most common signs were persistent scratching at the shoulder region with apparent neck, thoracic limb, or ear pain and thoracic limb lower motor neuron deficits. The diagnosis was made by magnetic resonance imaging. The syringohydromyelia is postulated to be a consequence of an occipital bone malformation resulting in a small caudal fossa and cerebellar herniation. Clinical signs improved but did not completely resolve when the dogs received treatment with corticosteroids or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Compressive myelopathy caused by acute suspected hydrated nucleus pulposus extrusion has not been reported previously and, even though neurological deficits can be severe on presentation, outcome is favourable.

Background: Most information about spinal arachnoid diverticula (SADs) in dogs has been retrieved from relatively small case series. The aim of this study was to describe this disease in a larger number of dogs.Objectives: Description of the signalment, clinical presentation, and imaging findings of a large number of dogs with SADs.Animals: One hundred and twenty-two dogs with SADs. Methods: Retrospective case series study. All medical records were searched for a diagnosis of SAD. The diagnosis was made based on myelography, computed tomography myelography (CT-m), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Results: In the 122 dogs, 125 SADs were identified. Sixty-five were located in the cervical region and 60 in the thoracolumbar region. A higher body weight was significantly associated with a cervical localization of the SAD (P < .001). Ninety-five dogs were male and 27 dogs were female. Male dogs were significantly overrepresented (P < .0001). The most commonly affected breed was the Pug dog. Previous or concurrent spinal disorders, in the near proximity of the diagnosed SAD, were seen in 26 dogs. Eight of 13 French Bulldogs and 7 of 21 Pug dogs with SADs had a previous or concurrent spinal disease, whereas other spinal disorders occurred in only 1 of 17 Rottweilers with SADs.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Pug dogs and French Bulldogs might have a predisposition for SAD development. In a large percentage of these dogs, a concurrent spinal disorder, which might predispose to SAD formation, was diagnosed. The high prevalence in male dogs warrants further investigation.

a a nance imaging of orbital disea Twenty-five small animal patients presenting with signs of orbital disease were investigated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in an attempt to assess the value of this imaging technique for diagnosis. All patients were also examined using ultrasonography, and skull radiography was performed in 20 of these animals. The final diagnoses included neoplasia, inflammatory disease and foreign body penetration. MRI produced detailed images of orbital tissues and provided more information about the extent of pathology than the other imaging techniques; a correct diagnosis based solely on the MRI scan was made in 22 cases. Radiography was found to be helpful only in cases in which neoplastic disease extended markedly beyond the confines of the orbit into the nasal chamber and paranasal sinuses. Radiographic changes other than soft tissue swelling were not evident in other orbital disease processes.Ultrasonography gave both false negative and false positive diagnoses for neoplastic masses, although it allowed the correct diagnosis of both cases of foreign bodies and one of the three cases of retrobulbar abscesses in this series. MRI is recommended for patients in which radiography and ultrasonography fail to produce a confident diagnosis or for which surgery is proposed.