Intervertebral disc disease in dogs – Part 2: Comparison of clinical, magnetic resonance imaging, and histological findings in 74 surgically treated dogs

The relationship between intervertebral disc (IVD) disease and IVD degeneration remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to compare the clinical severity of IVD herniation (IVDH), determined with a neurological grading system, with findings of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histology using grading systems for IVD degeneration in chondrodystrophic (CD; n = 37) and non-chondrodystrophic (NCD; n = 37) dogs. This study is the second part of a two-part investigation, where the first part involved the development and validation of a histological grading scheme for classification of canine IVD degeneration.IVD degeneration graded on MRI correlated significantly with IVD degeneration graded on histology, but not with pre-operative clinical signs. Hansen type 1 hernias were more common in the cervical and thoracolumbar segments and Hansen type 2 hernias were more common in the lumbosacral segment. Type 1 hernias occurred more often in CD dogs than in NCD dogs, and CD dogs were clinically more severely affected than NCD dogs. The grade of IVD degeneration on MRI was higher in CD dogs than in NCD dogs, but there was no difference between dogs with type 1 and type 2 hernias. No significant differences in histological grade were found between CD and NCD dogs or between type 1 and type 2 hernias.It was possible to conclude that IVD degeneration did not correlate with the neurological severity of IVDH. The extent of degeneration identified on MRI correlated with degeneration seen histologically. Although the MRI grading system reflected the severity of IVD degenerative changes as confirmed by histopathology, it appeared less useful in predicting the clinical implications.