Paresis,
paralysis and their various causes
Differential diagnosis in rabbits
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Sandra
Pittet Taiga, a paralyzed rabbit (front), due to
the parasite Encephalitozoon cuniculi, with her healthy
rabbit friend Lichen (back) |
Amy
Carpenter Typical sitting position of a rabbit with
weak or paralyzed hind-limbs |
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Acute paresis (hours) |
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Serum
electrolyte abnormalities: |
Profound hypokalemia |
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Hyperkalemia |
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Hypermagnesemia |
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Traumatic
causes |
Spinal cord injury, trauma of the
spinal cord, fracture, or disease of the CNS. |
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Spinal cord hemorrhage, e.g. after
trauma |
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Disease or lesions (e.g. brain hypoxia
from severe seizures) |
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Disc disease, compression of the
sciatic nerve |
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Congenital spinal deformities |
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Subacute paresis (days) |
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Bacterial infestation |
Brain
abscess, encephalitis, meningitis, spinal abscess caused by e.g. Pasteurella
multocida, Lysteria sp., Staphylococcus
sp.. |
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Traumatic
causes |
Muscle trauma, after excessive
exercise, or prolonged pressure and ischemia. |
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Spinal compression |
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Congenital spinal deformities |
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Slow onset of paresis |
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Parasitic infestation |
Encephalitozoon cuniculi in the
brain, accompanied by an inflammatory response of brain
cells |
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Toxoplasma sp. |
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Neoplastic
diseases: |
Bone neoplasm, development of tumors
in the spinal cord, carcinoma |
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“Mechanical”
causes: |
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Spondylosis (spinal osteoarthritis), disco-spondylitis, presence of bone spurs or
osteophytes, which can lead to pain and irritation of the nerves |
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Disk deformation |
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Intervertebral disk disease |
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Unknown cause: |
“Floppy rabbit disease” |
Thank you very much to Sandra
Pittet (Switzerland) and Amy Carpenter, for their pictures.
e-mail: info@medirabbit.com
