Cervical spinal cord astrocytoma in a dog.

An astrocytoma of the cervical spinal cord was diagnosed in a 3-year-old Siberian Husky. The dog had an 8-week history of progressive neurologic deficits that finally resulted in nonambulatory tetraparesis. Neurologic examination, CSF analysis, myelography, exploratory laminectomy and histopathologic examination were performed. Intramedullary spinal cord tumors such as astrocytomas are rare, and this case illustrates the manner in which spinal cord tumors may be confused with other nervous system diseases, both from a clinical and clinicopathologic standpoint.