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Evaluation of the thoraco‐laryngeal reflex (‘slap test’) as an indicator of laryngeal adductor myopathy in the horse
Author(s) -
NEWTONCLARKE M. J.,
DIVERS T. J.,
VALENTINE B. A.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
equine veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.82
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 2042-3306
pISSN - 0425-1644
DOI - 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1994.tb04402.x
Subject(s) - adductor muscles , medicine , myopathy , larynx , atrophy , reflex , horse , denervation , anatomy , pathology , anesthesia , biology , paleontology
Summary A study was conducted over a 12 month period to assess the accuracy of the ‘slap test’ in the diagnosis of laryngeal adductor myopathy. The thoraco‐laryngeal reflexes of 15 horses with no clinical signs of idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia (ILH) were recorded using a video‐endoscope. These ‘slap test’ responses were examined independently by 3 assessors. The horses were subsequently subjected to euthanasia and samples taken from the cricoarytenoideus lateralis (CAL) muscles for histopathological examination and assessment of denervation atrophy. Despite normal adductory responses, moderate to severe atrophy of the left CAL muscles was seen in 5 horses. The remaining horses had varying degrees of adductor myopathy, invariably worse in the left side of the larynx. The ‘slap test’ as performed in this study was therefore unable to differentiate between horses with moderate to severe muscle changes and those without, making it useless as a diagnostic test for adductor myopathy. The reason for the preservation in adductor function despite advanced histological atrophy of the muscle may lie in the degree of reinnervation found in the muscles.