INTRAVASCULAR CARTILAGINOUS EMBOLI IN THE SPINAL-CORD OF TURKEYS

A flock of 15-wk-old tom turkeys experienced an acute onset of paresis and ataxia in 75% of the birds after handling. Cartilaginous emboli w ere found in the spinal cord vasculature from one of five turkeys at t his initial presentation. Most of the flock recovered within 6 days, b ut 3% remained paretic. Myelomalacia was present in three turkeys that failed to recover. Two of these turkeys had cartilaginous and osseous emboli within the medullary spaces of the vertebral bodies, internal vertebral venous sinuses, and spinal cord. The third turkey had vascul ar and spinal cord necrosis consistent with thrombosis and resultant i schemia. These changes suggest that turkeys may be susceptible to a sy ndrome analogous to fibrocartilaginous embolism of the spinal cord in mammals. The articular cartilage of the vertebral body endplate may be the source of the emboli. The turkeys with emboli had articular carti lage defects consisting of matrix eosinophilia, chondrocyte loss, mult icellular cluster formation, cartilage detachment, and cartilage cleft s. Cartilaginous emboli in the spinal cord should be considered as a p otential cause for acute paresis aid ataxia, especially in flocks with preexisting abnormalities of the vertebral articular cartilage surfac es.