Articles

Cairn Terriers can suffer from a hereditary form of bilateral ocular melanosis (OM). It causes the accumulation of large and darkly pigmented melanocytes in the anterior uvea which may damage ocular structures. The progression of this pathology is slow but the cells can migrate to other structures and cause thickening of the iris root, form […]

Corneal ulcers are commonly found in cats suffering with feline herpesvirus infection with medical therapy is often indicated.  Because of the delicate anatomy of the cornea and the complexity of the surgery, the decision between medical and surgical treatment needs to be evaluated carefully. A recent review suggests that surgery should be considered in 4 […]

Evidence suggests that some anesthetic drugs increase intraocular pressure (IOP) which could lead to complications, including the loss of globe contents through surgical or traumatic wounds and/or blindness. A study set out to establish the IOP cut-off values that could be used to diagnose glaucoma, as well as to observe the effects of propofol anesthesia […]

Chinchillas are nocturnal and had been thought of as animals with a pure rod retina – but new research has shown that this is not true. Few animals have no cones at all in their retinas and, aside from some species of deep-sea fish and nocturnal reptiles, most nocturnal animals possess some form of color […]

As dogs age, they can develop benign hepatic masses. Fortunately, few of these require special treatment but some do and it is important to be able to distinguish them from benign neoplastic growths. CT scans and ultrasounds can be used to characterize hepatic masses and highlight the distinction between benign and malignant lesions. This study […]

Ultrasound and survey radiographs can be useful for the diagnosis of urinary function but their value is limited. Survey radiographs offer little insight into renal and upper urinary issues because of low tissue contrast while ultrasounds can be made difficult due to the gas build up common in gastrointestinal disease. Contrast radiography and CT scans […]

The ‘tree-in-bud’ pattern found during Computed Tomography (CT) scans is used in human medicine to help diagnose problems in the bronchi. It is characteristic of centrilobular bronchiolar dilation that could be caused by bronchial/bronchiolar plugging with mucus, pus or fluid. The authors considered that this pattern might also be relevant to feline medicine, especially since […]

Leopard geckos are a popular species of small reptile. They suffer from common conditions including gastrointestinal impaction, follicular stasis, dystocia, neoplasia and lesions in the hemipene. Ultrasound imaging is very accessible and can be used to diagnose these conditions. It is more cost-effective than MRI but little information is available on the ultrasonographic anatomy of […]

Tracheobronchomalacia refers to an imperfection of the trachea, main bronchi and/or other smaller airways supported by hyaline cartilage. It’s often diagnosed with the help of CT scans and radiographs by measuring the luminal diameter of the bronchus. Bronchoscopy is the gold standard but is rarely performed. Knowing this, the authors aimed to find out how […]

Pruritus is common in many skin disorders and it manifests through several types of behaviors. Until now, research into objective identification systems has used wearable sensors with limited functionality that could only capture differences in activity.  More established methods for pruritus identification rely on subjective owner reports. However, for this study, using both video recordings […]

Demodex canis mites are normally found inside the hair follicles of healthy dogs and demodicosis results from an abnormal and excessive proliferation of these organisms. Young dogs affected by this disease tend to show a genetic predisposition linked to poor immune response, while predisposing factors in older dogs include the administration of immunomodulatory drugs and […]

Pyoderma is usually caused by bacteria that inhabit the dog’s skin ( (this sounds strange to me). The infection begins when the skin barrier becomes compromised, allowing an abnormal proliferation of these opportunistic agents. Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is an organism commonly involved in these infections. A recent retrospective study looked into the frequency of the several […]

Canine atopic dermatitis (AD) is an allergic skin disease characterized by cutaneous inflammation and pruritus. The condition is a diagnostic challenge: it has a wide range of clinical presentations, these are often similar to other skin conditions and it’s not uncommon for AD to be accompanied by concurrent skin diseases. This article provides practical tips […]

Fear-related behavioral issues such as separation anxiety, fear of confinement and noise aversion have a huge impact in the quality of life of dogs and their owners. These animals suffer high levels of stress which can lead to other injuries.. They are also at a higher risk of abandonment or even euthanasia. Dogs can struggle […]

As in humans and other species, anxiety is an important facet of canine behavior and affects welfare. To better characterize anxiety, the authors of this study created a validated survey for owners and collected data on 3264 dogs in Finland of various breeds and ages. The authors studied noise sensitivity, fearfulness and separation anxiety to […]

Behavior problems too often cause owners to relinquish or euthanize their pets.  Sometimes these behavior changes are the result of underlying disease so veterinarians play a key role in identifying and treating the disease and, in doing so, resolving the behavior problem. Frequent behavior problems in dogs include aggression directed at their owners, at strangers […]