Histological variations in the intervertebral disks with chondrodystrophy in dogs which were examined by computed tomography

Abstract

This publication is devoted to the results of histological changes in the intervertebral discs in chondrodystrophoid dogs. Computed tomography (CT) was used to diagnose intervertebral disc extrusion in 4 dogs (3 dachshunds and 1 Australian shepherd) aged 7 to 14 years old with symptoms of spinal pain progressing from 1 to 14 days of varying degrees. For diagnosis, CT was performed by a Philips MX 16-slice CT (Netherlands). In one case (in the Australian Shepherd), due to the absence of changes in the native mode of CT, additional myelography was required (atlanto-occipital was injected with 10 ml of iodide contrasting substance Omnipack 350 mg iodine / ml). The identified changes were localized in two patients in the cervical region (in the Australian Shepherd and Dachshund 14 years old), in the other two (in the Dachshund 6 years and 10 months and Dachshund 5 years and 10 months) - in the thoracolumbar. Discogenic extrusions detected by the CT scan, with an average density of about 101.0 ± 5.40 HU, were surgically removed and subsequently subjected to histological examination. There are signs of chondroid metaplasia in all 4 samples. However, the three samples obtained from chondrodystrophic breeds, in comparison with the sample from the Australian Shepherd, had a more pronounced degree of signs of degeneration