Loss of house-training
11 Loss of house-training INITIAL PRESENTATION Behaviour change: loss of house-training. INTRODUCTION Occasional urinating or defecating in the house by the pet is often excused by the owner as ‘having…
SMALL ANIMAL
Dropped jaw
30 Dropped jaw INITIAL PRESENTATION Inability to prehend food or toys, slow, messy eating: drops food and dribbles water around the bowl, drooling, salivating (pseudoptyalism), jaw hanging open, unable to…
Ataxia: Vestibular ataxia
49 Ataxia Vestibular ataxia INITIAL PRESENTATION (VESTIBULAR DYSFUNCTION) • Ataxia • Falling, leaning, rolling or circling • Head tilt, nystagmus or positional strabismus. INTRODUCTION Balance in a general sense is…
Ataxia: Cerebellar ataxia
48 Ataxia Cerebellar ataxia INITIAL PRESENTATION When the coordination fails, smoothness of movement is lost and is replaced by: • Dysmetria, an exaggerated movement of limbs which appears as a…
LMN paresis and paralysis: Brachial plexus avulsion
45 LMN paresis and paralysis Brachial plexus avulsion INTRODUCTION Failure of nerve transmission due to a functional disturbance from compression, ischaemia, or blunt trauma is called neurapraxia. The larger motor…
Aggression
15 Aggression INTRODUCTION Pain and psychological disturbances are more common causes of aggression than cerebral disease. Aggression from pain is either due to touching the painful area or the animal…
Idiopathic facial paralysis
29 Idiopathic facial paralysis INITIAL PRESENTATION Acute Dropped or drooping flaccid upper and lower lips, dropped ear, lopsided face, odd look to face, food collecting in the mouth between the…
Alteration in mental state – an introduction
4 Alteration in mental state – an introduction INTRODUCTION This is the most common reason for animals to be presented to the veterinarian. Owners remark that the animal is ‘not…
Muscle tone – an introduction
61 Muscle tone – an introduction Tone is the resistance of a muscle to stretch. It is generated by reflex circuits of muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs projecting onto…
Gait – an introduction
37 Gait – an introduction Weakness (paresis) or paralysis, ataxia, and lameness are the most commonly observed alterations in gait. PARALYSIS AND PARESIS Paralysis is the absence of voluntary movement….
