Spinal Cord Ischemic Necrosis due to Fibrocartilaginous Embolism in a Horse

Fibrocartilaginous embolism is a syndrome of acute spinal mild paresis to total upper or lower motor neuron paralysis cord infarction that has been described in humans, 1,9,10 with anesthesia.3 Although the precise pathogenesis of this dogs, 2,4,7,8 and swine.11,13 Cases have also been described in a condition is not clear, the hallmark lesion is ischemic necrosis cat 17 and in 2 horses.12,14 In all species, the clinical signs of of spinal cord segments, associated with fibrocartilaginous fibrocartilaginous embolism are typically very acute, devel-emboli.oping over minutes to hours, and they range from ataxia or An 8-year-old Quarterhorse gelding was presented with an acute onset of grade 5 lameness on the left foreleg and trem-From the Departments of Veterinary Pathobiology (Fuentealba, bling of the other limbs.The horse had been found trapped Weeks Wease) and Large Animal Medicine and Surgery (Martin, in a narrow cattle loading chute the previous evening, but Joyce), Texas Veterinary Medical Center, College of Veterinary Med-there had been no evidence of trauma, and the horse appeared icine