The Nervous System Flashcards
How can a neurological problem start?
Trauma = sudden
Slow and progressive
How does the neurological exam work
Start at head and work back
What might you see when examining the head in a neurological exam
Behaviour (aggression, depression, head pressing, circling)
Blindness
Abnormal eye movement (nystagmus)
Drooping muzzle, ears, eyes
Difficulty eating/swallowing
Noisy breathing
Protruding tongue
How do we test for blindness
No menace reflex
Pupillary light reflex
What is abnormal eye movement called
Nystagmus
What might you see caudal to the head during a neurological exam
Loss of coordination
General weakness
Loss of proprioception (placing limbs)
No cutaneous trunci reflex (drag pen down side = twitching)
Single limb abnormalities
Loss of coordination is also known as…
Ataxia
Proprioception is..
ability to place limbs
What imaging techniques can we use during a neurological exam
Radiographs
MRI
CT scans
Nuclear scitingraphy
Test involving collection of fluid in a needle and examining it for abnormalities…
CSF tap
Measurement of electrical activity in muscles
Electromyography
Malformation of a cervical vertebra that puts pressure on the spinal cord and causes neurological signs is…
Cervical Vertebral Malformation (CVM) or wobblers
How will CVM occur
Abnormal development in young horse (6 months - 3 years)
Hereditary/nutritional
Occurs after arthritis in older horse
Trauma
How is wobblers diagnosed
Clinical signs (ataxia, weakness)
Ragiographs +/- myelogram
How is wobblers treated
Diet, NSAIDs, surgery
How serious is wobblers?
Performance-limiting
~70% of surgically treated horses improve
Complications of wobblers?
Trauma