Investigation of a contributing factor for cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy using computed tomography for measuring the cervical vertebral volume

Thoroughbred horses appear to be particularly predisposed to cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM), also known as wobbler syndrome. We hypothesized that variations in the cervical vertebral volumes can affect the dynamic instability of the cervical vertebrae. This observational study aimed to clarify whether cervical vertebral volume could be considered as a contributing factor in CVSM in Thoroughbred horses. Computed tomography (CT) was used to investigate a total of 21 male Thoroughbred horses (age range, 217–1,002 days; mean, 542.3 days). The study population comprised 17 CVSM horses (age range, 217–1,002 days; mean, 549.8 days) and 4 non-CVSM horses (age range, 244–682 days; mean, 510.5 days). The cervical vertebral volumes of three-dimensional CT were measured using the image-processing software. A significant difference in the variation of cervical vertebral volumes among C2 to C4 and C3 to C5 was identified in the CVSM group (P