Benders N A, Veldhuis Kroeze E J B, van der Kolk J H
Department of Equine Sciences, Medicine Section, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, PO Box 80.152, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Equine Vet J. 2004 Jan;36(1):46-50. doi: 10.2746/0425164044864697.
To present the first report of a case series concerning equine idiopathic muscular hypertrophy of the oesophagus (IMHO).
To investigate the clinical and pathological features of the disorder.
The medical records of 31 horses suffering from the disorder were reviewed retrospectively. In all these animals the diagnosis was confirmed at post mortem examination.
The median age of the affected horses was 12.5 +/- 5.6 years (range 1-26) without sex or breed predilection. Only 2 out of 31 horses showed clinical signs associated with oesophageal dysfunction, indicating that the muscular hypertrophy was rather a coincidental post mortem finding. Histology revealed thickening of the distal portion of the oesophagus mainly involving the circular layer of the tunica muscularis without fibrosis or inflammation. In 8 cases, the disorder was seen in concurrence with idiopathic hypertrophy of the tunica muscularis of various other parts of the gastrointestinal tract.
In the majority of patients, IMHO was a coincidental finding at post mortem examination usually confined to the smooth, circular muscle layer of the tunica muscularis externa.
Further research is necessary to study the precise effect of IMHO on oesophageal function.
呈现首例关于马食管特发性肌肉肥大（IMHO）的病例系列报告。
研究该病症的临床和病理特征。
回顾性分析31例患有该病症马匹的病历。所有这些动物均在死后检查时确诊。
患病马匹的中位年龄为12.5±5.6岁（范围1 - 26岁），无性别或品种偏好。31匹马中只有2匹表现出与食管功能障碍相关的临床症状，这表明肌肉肥大相当于是死后偶然发现。组织学检查显示食管远端增厚，主要累及肌层的环形肌层，无纤维化或炎症。8例中，该病症与胃肠道其他部位肌层的特发性肥大同时出现。
在大多数病例中，IMHO是死后检查时的偶然发现，通常局限于外肌层的平滑肌环形肌层。
有必要进一步研究IMHO对食管功能的确切影响。
