Category: Nervous

Hydrocephalus is the abnormal accumulation of fluid in the cranial cavity, in most cases within the brain’s 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 (spaces where the cerebrospinal fluid flows within the brain).

EPM is a nervous disease of horses that is caused by protozoan parasites, most commonly 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐚. Affected horses have 𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐚 (irregular gait due to nervous disease), weakness and depression. Horses also often have head tilt, facial nerve paralysis with drooping of the ears and lips, and difficulty swallowing. These clinical signs tend to get worse over time, progressing to seizures, recumbency and death.

We typically shorten this disease to just “polio”, for obvious reasons. But if you break it down into its Latin roots, it’s not too bad!