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TOPICS IN MEDICINE AND SURGERY

IntroductionClinical Neurology of Exotic Pets


Anna L. Meredith, MA, VetMB, PhD, CertLAS, DZooMed (Mammalian), Dip. ECZM
(Wildlife Population Health), MRCVS
I am sure I am not alone in admitting that I found
neurology particularly challenging as a veterinary
student. Even now, when faced with a neurologic
case, I often have to think hard, recall that mnemonic
I used to learn the cranial nerves, and go back to the
basics and the textbooks to remember all the
neuroanatomical pathways and the physiologic effect
a lesion has at any point. For some reason, assessing a
neurologic case has never become completely
intuitive (my own mental block perhaps?), but
possibly, the problem centers on the relatively small
number of such cases that are presented. However,
there are many disease conditions that affect exotic
animal species which result in abnormal nervous
signs, due to infectious, traumatic, neoplastic,
metabolic, toxic, and nutritional causes. Companion
exotic animal species present us with the additional
complexity of anatomical and behavioral differences
and the effects that stress and lack of domestication
can have on response to stimuli, making neurologic
cases even more challenging when trying to determine
a diagnosis. These are the main reasons I elected to
cover clinical neurology of exotic pets in this edition
of Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine. The key objectives
were to provide clear and easy-to-follow guidelines on
how to perform a neurologic examination and
comprehensive information on the diseases that can
cause neurologic signs in each species group.
When faced with a patient with apparent
neurologic signs, the aim is rst to identify whether
the problem is indeed neurologic, and then, if so, to
determine its anatomical location. In many cases,
musculoskeletal disease or weakness can make this
rst stage of clarication difcult. In conjunction with
the assessment of history and physical examination,
neuroanatomical localization then allows the
formulation of a list of differential diagnoses, which

results in ones ability to determine the specic


diagnostic tests that should be performed to gain a
denitive diagnosis. Although the nervous system is
inherently difcult to access and sample in live
animals, advanced diagnostic imaging modalities
have revolutionized our ability to visualize some
neurologic lesions. Although treatment options may
be limited, more advanced surgical techniques, such
as bulla osteotomies in rabbits, are being performed
with more regularity. Our understanding of some
neurologic diseases, such as encephalitozoonosis in
rabbits and rodents, is incomplete, with many gaps
and questions; therefore, further research is
desperately needed. Fortunately, knowledge of how to
interpret test results to diagnose this disease in live
animals is slowly improving.
The authors have met the challenge set to them and
I am very grateful for their hard work and sharing of
their expertise. The 2 clinical technique articles on
performing a neurologic examination in small exotic
mammals, birds, and reptiles provide step-by-step
guides on the technique and demonstrate clearly that
methodical practices adapted from domestic cats and
dogs can be simply adapted and applied to exotic
pets. I am grateful to all the authors for providing
such wonderful images, through which the neurologic
examination is described much more clearly than
through text alone. The review articles then offer a
comprehensive, well-referenced overview of the
diseases that can affect mammals, birds, and reptiles.
I do hope that this issue achieves its aims and
serves as a resource for veterinarians, allowing for
direction and increased condence in making an
accurate neurologic assessment and diagnosis in these
challenging cases. An accurate denitive diagnosis will
in turn lead to more effective treatment of exotic pets
with neurologic disease.

From the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, Midlothian, UK.
Address correspondence to: Anna L. Meredith MA, VetMB, PhD, CertLAS, DZooMed (Mammalian), Dip. ECZM (Wildlife Population Health),
MRCVS, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG,
UK. E-mail: Anna.Meredith@ed.ac.uk.
r 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1557-5063/14/2101-$30.00
http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.jepm.2014.12.001

Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine 24 (2015), pp 5

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