Advances in Internal Medicine in Equids

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Equids".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 2539

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Universidad de Córdoba, Cordoba, Spain
Interests: donkeys; mules; clinical pathology; hematology; pathology; internal medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Universidad de Córdoba, Cordoba, Spain
Interests: donkeys; mules; clinical pathology; hematology; pathology; internal medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to the most recent and cutting-edge research on internal medicine in equids, including horses, donkeys, and mules. We understand that this topic is notoriously broad, and clinicians (as well as researchers) can feel overwhelmed by the quantity of information and the variety of sources. Moreover, the incessant advancement in diagnostic and therapeutic tools in internal medicine, the discovery of new conditions affecting equids, and the spread of exotic diseases to new locations compel us to be constantly updated. We hope to provide a meeting point for researchers with this Special Issue, gathering the most recent and relevant scientific results on internal medicine and specifically focusing on findings with clinical relevance. This Special Issue will collect not only manuscripts on general internal medicine applied to equids (immunology, pharmacology, nutrition, critical care, epidemiology, and evidence-based medicine), but also results of interest to any specialty of internal medicine in these species (cardiology, neurology, endocrinology, dermatology, neonatology, theriogenology, sport medicine, etc.). Both reviews and original articles are welcome. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Alejandro Perez-Ecija
Dr. Francisco Mendoza García
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • horse
  • donkey
  • internal medicine
  • cardiology
  • neonatology
  • neurology
  • immunology
  • endocrinology
  • clinical pathology
  • physiology
  • infectious diseases
  • pharmacology
  • critical care
  • emergencies

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 3374 KiB  
Article
Abdominal Ultrasonography in Healthy Female Standard Donkeys
by Lucrezia Accorroni, Marilena Bazzano, Andrea Marchegiani, Andrea Spaterna and Fulvio Laus
Animals 2025, 15(2), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15020129 - 8 Jan 2025
Viewed by 513
Abstract
Knowledge of the normal ultrasound anatomy in the donkey is essential to understand pathological changes and to reach an early diagnosis, considering the “dullness” and stoicism of these animals in pain manifestations. The aims of this study were to document which abdominal viscera [...] Read more.
Knowledge of the normal ultrasound anatomy in the donkey is essential to understand pathological changes and to reach an early diagnosis, considering the “dullness” and stoicism of these animals in pain manifestations. The aims of this study were to document which abdominal viscera could be identified using a transcutaneous ultrasonography technique under field conditions in unsedated, standing donkeys to determine where the different abdominal structures could be easily displayed and to describe any variation that occurred between different donkeys and horses. In this work, the manual technique for performing an ultrasound of the abdominal organs in a donkey is described, including acoustic windows. In addition, several measurements were performed and correlated with the age and weight of the animal to find possible variations. For several of the abdominal viscera, donkeys were found to have similarities with horses, but some differences were found, mostly related to kidney size and the technique for liver visualization. The wall thickness of the colon was confirmed as higher compared to horses, while other intestinal tracts were found to be comparable. A correlation between body weight and organ measurements was only found for the length of both kidneys. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Internal Medicine in Equids)
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8 pages, 561 KiB  
Article
The Prevalence of Gastric Ulcer Syndrome in 395 Horses in Jiangyin City, China, Jiangsu Province
by Kairen Zhou, Zhen Dong, Xuzheng Zhou, Bintao Zhai, Bing Li, Jiyu Zhang and Fusheng Cheng
Animals 2024, 14(24), 3636; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14243636 - 17 Dec 2024
Viewed by 707
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and association of EGUS in horses of different ages, breeds and occupations. Gastroscopies were performed on 395 horses, and gastric ulcers were graded on a scoring system from 0 to 4. The relationship [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and association of EGUS in horses of different ages, breeds and occupations. Gastroscopies were performed on 395 horses, and gastric ulcers were graded on a scoring system from 0 to 4. The relationship between age, breed, and work, along with the prevalence of gastric ulcers and their influences, were evaluated. The prevalence rate of ulcers in this herd was 78%. Older horses were prone to ulcers in both the glandular and squamous mucosal areas. Across the different jobs surveyed, 60% of the horses had a score of 2 or above. For the horses participating in more intense jobs (group performances, pulling carts, etc.), the number of horses with an ulcer score of 2 or above exceeded 50% of the total number of horses in this job. The prevalence of gastric ulcers was high, and these ulcers were severe in the horses belonging to the examined club, with no association between age or breed and the prevalence of ulcers; however, there was a difference in the location of the ulcers between breeds, as well as differences in the incidence and severity of ulcers depending on work activity. This study provides data reference values for the control and prevention of gastric ulcers in horses in this horse farm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Internal Medicine in Equids)
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9 pages, 666 KiB  
Article
Serum Vitamin D Level Is Unchanged in Equine Asthma
by Sophie Mainguy-Seers, Susan J. Holcombe and Jean-Pierre Lavoie
Animals 2024, 14(22), 3310; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14223310 - 18 Nov 2024
Viewed by 789
Abstract
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with asthma development and severity of symptoms in humans, but whether the same occurs in horses is unknown. We aimed to determine whether the serum vitamin D levels differ in horses with asthma compared to control animals and, [...] Read more.
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with asthma development and severity of symptoms in humans, but whether the same occurs in horses is unknown. We aimed to determine whether the serum vitamin D levels differ in horses with asthma compared to control animals and, secondarily, to explore clinical, respiratory, and environmental parameters associated with its concentration in equids in a retrospective cross-sectional study. The total serum vitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured by radioimmunoassay in 45 serum samples from the Equine Respiratory Tissue Biobank (15 control animals, 14 horses with mild or moderate asthma (MEA), and 16 horses with severe asthma (SEA)). Descriptive clinical and environmental parameters, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytology, and lung function data were extracted. There was no difference in serum 25(OH)D levels between healthy controls, horses with MEA, and horses with SEA (respectively, means of 57.9 ± 11.6, 55.6 ± 20.0, and 64.6 ± 14.5 nmol/L; p = 0.3), suggesting that this micronutrient does not play a major role in equine asthma pathophysiology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Internal Medicine in Equids)
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