2024 veterinary news in review: #8
dvm360 is counting down the Top 20 news stories and articles from 2024 with this series of spotlights
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The dvm360 editorial team is counting down our Top 20 news stories and articles of the year, from January 1, 2024, to November 15, 2024. Rank was determined by measurable audience interest and engagement.
A spotlight is shining on 1 article each day through New Year’s Eve, when the No. 1 dvm360 story of the year will be shared. The following article is No. 8 on this list:
Equine head wounds and skull fractures
written by Mélanie Perrier, DrMedVet, DACVS, DECVAS, CERP
Originally published August 29, 2024
The presentation of horses for wound evaluation following trauma is a frequent occurrence and one of the most common emergency presentations in equine medicine.1 Horses can sustain wounds over any part of their body, with the distal extremities and head region being common locations for injuries. Like in the distal extremities, there is little soft tissue coverage in the head region, and in up to 80% of cases head lacerations can be accompanied by a traumatic fracture of some part of the skull, making them slightly more challenging to manage.2
In one study, fractures involving a horse’s head following a kick from another horse comprised 12% of all incidents and were the second most common type of fractures, following splint bone fractures.3 A thorough knowledge of the horse’s anatomy is needed when addressing trauma and lacerations in the head region. Vital structures found in a horse’s head include the eyes, cerebrum, paranasal sinuses, and nasolacrimal duct.
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Skull fractures
The equine skull is complex and composed of bones including the incisive bone, nasal bone, frontal bone, maxilla, lacrimal bone, zygomatic bone, interparietal bone, parietal bone, temporal bone, sphenoid bone, occipital bone, ethmoid bone, palatine bone, vomer, pterygoid bone, and mandible.4 The most common bones injured in skull fractures are the nasal, frontal, and maxillary bones with the zygomatic process of the frontal bone.5 Additionally, lacerations to the face and subsequent facial bone fractures can be complex and involve various structures such as sinus compartments, the lacrimal duct, orbit, and cerebrum.
Wound Cases
Last year, investigators, including this author, analyzed 13 cases that were presented in our practice over the past 4 years.15 Cases were included if they underwent CT diagnostics of the head with a history of facial trauma and had a fracture of at least 1 of the facial bones comprising the skull. We only included cases that were treated without internal fixation of the skull fracture.
For more on this story, including references and how to navigate bones and vital structures requiring knowledge of the horse’s anatomy, view the full article here: https://www.dvm360.com/view/equine-head-wounds-and-skull-fractures
