Down S S, Henson F M D
The Queen's Veterinary School Hospital, The University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK.
Equine Vet J. 2009 Jul;41(6):518-24. doi: 10.2746/042516409x391015.
Arthropathy of the caudal cervical articular process joints (APJs) in the horse is documented as a cause of ataxia and paresis secondary to spinal cord compression. Enlargement of the caudal APJs is reported to increase with age, but there are no known associations of any other factors. No association of the degree of APJ enlargement with neurological signs seen has been documented. This study investigated the associations of cervical APJ enlargement at the C5-C6 and C6-C7 articulations with case subject details (breed, age, sex, usage) and clinical signs.
To ascertain if there are of any associations between: the subject details and enlargement of the caudal cervical APJs; and the degree of APJ enlargement and the presence and type of clinical signs.
There would be an effect of age, breed and usage on APJ grade, with no effect of sex. Association between grade and clinical signs seen was also investigated.
The radiographs of 122 horses qualified for inclusion. Horses were excluded if they were known to have a neck lesion cranial to C5-C6, or if the radiographs were rotated or of poor quality. In order to standardise the interpretation of APJ enlargement, a novel grading system was developed and used.
An association was found between age and APJ grade at C5-C6 but not C6-C7. There was no association between grade, breed, sex and usage, or clinical signs seen. Data also showed a trend for increasing enlargement the more caudal the APJ.
The data in this study support that the size of the caudal cervical APJ at the level of C5-C6, appear to increase with age, but this enlargement may not be significant. Enlargement cannot be associated with breed, sex or discipline of the horse at present, and specific grades and therefore degree of enlargement, cannot necessarily be assumed to be the cause of neurological deficits.
马的尾侧颈椎关节突关节（APJ）关节炎被记录为脊髓受压继发共济失调和轻瘫的一个原因。据报道，尾侧APJ的增大随年龄增长而增加，但尚无已知的其他因素关联。尚未记录到APJ增大程度与所见神经体征之间的关联。本研究调查了C5-C6和C6-C7关节处颈椎APJ增大与病例详情（品种、年龄、性别、用途）及临床体征之间的关联。
确定以下方面是否存在任何关联：病例详情与尾侧颈椎APJ增大；APJ增大程度与临床体征的存在及类型。
年龄、品种和用途会对APJ分级产生影响，而性别无影响。还研究了分级与所见临床体征之间的关联。
纳入122匹符合条件的马的X光片。已知有C5-C6以上颈部病变的马，或X光片有旋转或质量不佳的马被排除。为了标准化对APJ增大的解读，开发并使用了一种新的分级系统。
发现C5-C6处年龄与APJ分级之间存在关联，但C6-C7处不存在。分级、品种、性别、用途与所见临床体征之间均无关联。数据还显示出一种趋势，即APJ越靠尾侧，增大越明显。
本研究中的数据支持，C5-C6水平的尾侧颈椎APJ大小似乎随年龄增加，但这种增大可能不显著。目前，增大与马的品种、性别或训练项目无关，特定的分级以及因此的增大程度，不一定被认为是神经功能缺损的原因。
