Hindlimb paralysis in a Holstein heifer with pathologic lumbar fracture caused by vertebral and paravertebral body abscess

Abstract

　A 6-month-old Holstein heifer presented with hindlimb paralysis and astasia. Spinal injury was suspected from the spinal curvature and swelling from T13 to L2. Abdominal ultrasound examination revealed a mass of 8 cm in diameter near the right kidney. Ultrasound-guided needle aspiration of the mass revealed pus containing Gram-positive cocci, and paravertebral body abscess was strongly suspected. Computed tomography examination revealed a vertebral fracture of L2. At necropsy, two abscesses were found on both sides of the spine from L1 to L5. These abscesses were fused near the vertebral body of L1 and L2 encapsulating the vertebral body. A pathologic fracture of L2 was confirmed, and a part of the bone was compressing the spinal cord.