Acquired spinal cord and peripheral nerve disease

Acquired spinal cord diseases in ruminants result most commonly from infectious, traumatic, metabolic/nutritional, or toxic causes and rarely from neoplasia. Clinical signs of spinal cord disease depend on the neuroanatomic location of the lesion. Acquired spinal cord diseases including vertebral osteomyelitis/spinal abscess, cauda-equina disease, enzootic ataxia, lymphosarcoma, polyradiculoneuritis, and degenerative myeloencephalopathy are discussed. Acquired peripheral nerve disease in cattle most often is a result of injury and most commonly only one limb is involved. Peripheral nerve injuries frequently occur secondary to myopathy in recumbent adult cattle. In small ruminants, peripheral nerve injury seems less common, most likely due to their smaller size, but may occur from predator wounds or iatrogenically following intramuscular drug administration. Injury to the brachial plexus and radial, suprascapular, sciatic, femoral, and obturator nerves is discussed.