Veterinary Neuropathology. Essentials of Theory and Practice

Description

A concise, well-illustrated book which introduces the theoretical and practical basics of veterinary neuropathology, based on the authors' extensive clinical and teaching experience. Rather than being an exhaustive review of subject, it presents readers with strategies to deal with the most common neuropathological problems, showing them how to recognise and interpret major lesion patterns before trying to diagnose a specific disease.

The book is intended to teach neuropathology from scratch not only for pathologists and neurologists but also other interested groups - particularly imaging specialists. It will also be sufficiently comprehensive to be used as a clinical manual for daily diagnostic work. It offers all the neuropathology a neurologist and other MRI user needs to know, and provides a solid foundation for a diagnostic pathologist to become an effective neuropathologist.

Table of Contents

• Preface
• Foreword

1. General neuropathology

1. Principles of neuroanatomy for diagnostic neuropathologists
1. Anatomical orientation by using the ventricular system
2. Major anatomical regions of interest
3. Histological neuroanatomy
2. Neuropathological techniques
1. Necropsy techniques
2. Brain sectioning, macroscopic inspection and sampling for histology
3. Basic tissue reaction patterns
1. Reactions of neurons to injury
2. Oligodendrocytes
3. Astrocytes
4. Microglia/macrophages
5. CSF spaces
6. Blood vessels
7. Disturbance of water balance: edema
8. Artifacts, postmortem degeneration and pseudolesions
4. Recognizing major lesion patterns
1. The major lesion patterns
2. Lesion distribution pattern
3. Classification of neurological diseases
4. General strategy
5. Neuropathology in the clinics: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
1. Basic MRI physics
2. Principles of interpretation

• Further reading
• Neuropathology general
• Neurology/functional neuroanatomy
• Neuroanatomy
• Techniques for PNS and muscle
• Basic tissue reaction patterns
• Edema
• Artifacts, pseudolesions, old age
• Magnetic resonance imaging

2. Vascular disorders

1. Pathophysiology of ischemia
2. General strategy for diagnosing vascular lesions
3. Common vascular lesions
1. Vascular lesions of the brain
2. Vascular lesions of the spinal cord
3. Ischemia in the periperal nervous system and muscles

• Further reading
• Cerebral infarcts
• Hemorrhage
• Hypertensive encehalopathy
• Fibrocartilagenous emboli
• Aortic thrombosis

3. Inflammatory diseases

1. Pathophysiology of inflammation
1. Entry and effect of infectious agents in the nervous system
2. Immune reaction of the host against the infectious agent in the CNS
3. Morphological aspects of the immune response
2. General strategy for diagnosis of inflammatory lesions
1. Recognizing major inflammatory reaction patterns
2. Determining the distribution pattern of the lesions
3. Specific features
3. Common CNS infections
1. Neurotropic viral infections
2. Viral granulomatous inflammation
3. Viral vasculitis
4. Viral leukoencephalitis
5. Bacterial infections
6. Mycotic and algal infections
7. Protozoal infections
8. Helmintic infections
4. Non-infectious and immune-mediated inflammatory lesions
1. Definition
2. Neurological diseases assumed to be immune-mediated

• Further reading
• General
• Neurotropic viral infections
• Viral granulomatous infections
• Viral vasculitis
• Demyelinating viral infections
• Bacterial infections
• Fungal infections
• Protozoal infections
• Helmintic infections
• Non-infectious and Immune-mediated inflammatory disorders

4. Trauma

1. Pathophysiology of CNS trauma
1. Pathogenesis of brain trauma
2. Pathogenesis of spinal cord trauma
2. General strategy for diagnosis of traumatic CNS lesions
3. Traumatic nervous system diseases
1. Trauma of the brain
2. Traumatic spinal cord lesions
3. Trauma in the peripheral nervous system

• Further reading
• Pathophysiology of CNS trauma
• Brain trauma
• Intervertebral disc disease
• Spinal malformations
• Wobbler syndrome
• Other causes of cord compression
• Cauda equina syndrome

5. Congenital malformations (anomalies)

1. Pathophysiology
1. Ontogeny of the CNS
2. Etiology
2. General strategy for diagnosing anomalies of the CNS
3. Common malformations
1. Neural tube closure defects
2. Defects of forebrain induction
3. Neuronal migration disorders and sulcation defects
4. Disorders of proliferation or size
5. Encephaloclastic defects
6. Malformations in the caudal fossa and spinal cord
7. Congenital hydrocephalus and other anomalies of CSF pathways

• Further reading
• Neural tube closure defects
• Defects of forebrain induction
• Neuronal migration disorders and sulcation defects
• Encephaloclastic defects
• Cerebellar hypoplasia
• Dandy Walker syndrome
• Chiari malformation, Syringomyelia
• Hydrocephalus
• Arachnoidal and ependymal cysts

6. Metabolic–toxic diseases

1. General strategy for diagnosis of metabolic–toxic lesions
1. The major patterns
2. Further differential diagnosis
2. Encephalomalacias/myelomalacias
1. Polioencephalomalacia (PE) or cerebrocortical necrosis (CCN)
2. Polioencephalomalacia of subcortical structures and brainstem
3. Poliomyelomalacia
4. Leukoencephalomalacias
5. Encephalomalacias involving both gray and white matter
3. Acquired metabolic–toxic selective lesions
1. Neuronal degeneration
2. Axonal degeneration
3. Myelin degeneration
4. Spongy degeneration
5. Metabolic–toxic lesions of the peripheral
6. nervous system (PNS) and skeletal muscle
1. Metabolic–toxic neuropathies
2. Metabolic–toxic myopathies

• Further reading
• General
• Polioencephalomalacia large animals
• Polioencephalomalacia in small animals
• Hippocampal necrosis and sclerosis
• Subcortical and brainstem encephalomalacias
• Selenium poisoning
• Equine leukomalacia
• Enterotoxemia
• CO poisoning
• Metabolic toxic neuronal degenerations
• Grass sickness
• Acquired lysosomal storage diseases
• Metabolic–toxic axonal degenerations
• Irradiated feed-induced myelinopathy in cats
• Toxic spongy degenerations
• Hepatic encephalopathy
• Toxic peripheral neuropathies
• Metabolic peripheral neuropathies
• Matabolic–toxic myopathies

7. Neoplasia

1. General strategy for diagnosis of neoplastic lesions
1. Clinical and diagnostic imaging information
2. Interpretation of gross findings
3. Diagnosis
4. Grading
2. Tumors of neuroepithelial origin
1. Astrocytomas
2. Oligodendroglioma (grade II–III)
3. Mixed gliomas (oligoastrocytomas)
4. Ependymoma (grade I–III)
5. Choroid plexus tumors (papillomas and carcinomas)
6. Neuronal and mixed neuronal–glial tumors
7. Embryonal tumors
3. Tumors of cranial and spinal nerves
1. Benign PNST
2. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST)
4. Tumors of the meninges
1. Meningioma
2. Granular cell tumor
3. Mesenchymal tumors
5. Lymphomas and hematopoietic tumors
1. Primary T and B cell lymphomas
2. Intravascular lymphoma
3. Metastatic lymphoma
4. Primary CNS histiocytic sarcoma
6. Germ cell tumors
1. Germinoma
2. Teratoma
7. Embryonal tumors of nonneuroepithelial origin
1. Thoracolumbar spinal cord tumor (ectopic nephroblastoma)
8. Secondary or metastatic tumors

• Further reading
• General
• Glial tumors
• Choroid plexus tumors
• Neuronal tumors
• Embryonal tumors
• PNS tumors
• Meningiomas
• Granular cell tumor
• Mesenchymal tumors
• Lymphomas and hemapoetic tumors
• Germ cell tumors
• Nephroblastoma
• Metastatic tumors

8. Degenerative diseases

1. General strategy for differential diagnosis of degenerative lesions
1. Recognizing the major patterns
2. Further analysis
3. Diagnosis
2. Degenerations of neurons
1. General aspects
2. Motor neuron diseases
3. Cerebellar degenerations
4. Other neuronal degenerations
3. Axonal degenerations
1. Wallerian-like degenerative axonopathies
2. Axonopathies with prominent axonal swelling
4. Myelin disorders
1. Leukodystrophies
2. Myelin dysgenesis
5. Storage diseases
1. Lysosomal storage diseases
2. Neuronal ceroid lipofucsinoses (NCL)
3. Lafora’s disease
4. Acquired storage diseases
6. Spongiform encephalopathies
1. Transmissible degenerative diseases
2. Neuropathology of TSE
3. TSEs in domestic animals
7. Spongy degenerations
1. Definition and general morphological features
2. Spongy degeneration in branchedchain organic acidurias
3. Spongy degenerations of other causes
8. Selective symmetrical encephalomalacias (SSE)
1. General morphological features
2. Mitochondrial encephalopathies in people and similar lesions in animals
9. Degenerative diseases of the peripheral nervous system and muscle

• Degenerative polyneuropathies
• Degenerative myopathies
• Further reading
• Motor neuron diseases
• Cerebellar degenerations
• Other neuronal degenerations
• Alzheimer disease
• Wallerian-like axonal degenerations
• Degenerative myelopathy in old dogs
• Wallerian-like degenerations in large animals
• Neuroaxonal dystrophy
• Leukodystrophies
• Dysmyelination
• Lysosomal storage diseases
• Spongiform encephalopathies
• Spongy degenerations
• Selective symmetrical encephalomalacias
• Degenerative diseases of the PNS and muscles

Index

Author Information

Marc Vandevelde Dr.med.vet., DECVN is a professor of neurology in the Division of Neurological Sciences, Vetsuisse Faculty at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Robert J. Higgins BVSc, MS, PhD, DACVP is a professor of pathology in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, at the University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA.

Anna Oevermann Dr. med.vet., DECVP is an associate professor of neuropathology in the Division of Neurological Sciences , Vetsuisse Faculty at the University of Bern, Switzerland.