Intervertebral Disk Degeneration in Dogs: Consequences, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Future Directions

Abstract

Evidence of intervertebral disk degeneration (IVDD) is extremely common in dogs, and its prevalence increases with age. It has many important consequences because degeneration of the intervertebral disks often is a prelude to disk herniation, which can injure the spinal cord, spinal nerves, or both. This review summarizes the advances in diagnosis and treatment of IVDD that have been made since the 1950s when the first detailed description of the degenerative changes was published. It also discusses new approaches to treatment of the associated spinal cord injury and new methods by which to classify injury severity that are currently under development.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Sep 06, 2013
Source ID
10.1111/jvim.12183

Entities

People

  • J.m. Levine
  • N.d. Jeffery
  • N.j. Olby
  • V.m. Stein

Organizations

  • Dana Foundation
  • German Research Foundation
  • Iowa State University
  • National Institutes of Health
  • North Carolina State University
  • United States Department of Defense
  • University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Immunology and Pathology
  • Neuroscience
  • Systems Analysis and Design