Computed tomographic myelographic examination of the equine cervical spine

Until recently, the gold standard for evaluating disorders of the equine cervical spine that result in stenosis of the spinal canal and subsequent spinal cord compression has been the use of radiographic myelography. With a sensitivity of only 53% there remain a large number of equivocal results [1]. A multi-institutional retrospective study revealed that 61% of horses with suspected compression were confirmed at post-mortem examination using plain radiography, while 68% were confirmed using myelography [1]. The difficulty in interpretation of radiographic studies makes the technique a poor gold standard for diagnosis of compression of the spinal cord. In addition, lateralised lesions of the spinal column resulting in lateral to lateral spinal cord compression are not visualised with the standard lateral views, making it possible to confirm only the presence of ventrodorsal compression ...