The most common causes of naturally occurring acute spinal cord injury in the dog are intervertebral disc herniation from degeneration of the intervertebral discs, and exogenous trauma from road traffic accidents. The neurologic manifestations of acute spinal cord injury in dogs are dependent upon the region of the spinal cord affected. Signs may range from neck or back pain to complete paralysis and loss of autonomic functions such as loss of bowel and bladder control. Currently practiced medical therapies are aimed at controlling secondary injury mechanism that occur secondary to the primary cause of the injury. Surgical therapies are aimed at correcting the primary cause of the injury. Prognosis of the case depends on the severity of injury and the time of intervention.
Disc, decompression, myelography, spinal cord, trauma
