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Diseases of the Mouth in Large Animals: Introduction |  |
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Lip Lacerations: |
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Wounds of the lips and cheeks are most common in horses. They may be caused by a fall, a kick, or the use of inappropriate bits or restraint devices or, more commonly, from the horse having its lips and sometimes mandible caught as it “plays” in its stall. Lip lacerations may be accompanied by mandibular or incisive bone and dental fractures and avulsions in some cases (eg, if the horse panics). Because of the vascularity of the region,
healing is usually rapid. However, once the wound has penetrated into the mouth, careful management is needed to avoid formation of a fistula. First-stage healing is best achieved by the construction of intraoral mucosal flaps to achieve an oral seal. Subsequent skin or mucosal grafts may be necessary to correct large defects or fistulae. |
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Glossoplegia (Paralysis of the Tongue): |
| This may be seen in newborns as a result of the placement of obstetric snares. Such neonates need to be managed carefully to ensure that they are able to eat; ingestion of colostrum is particularly important. Fluid therapy (IV) and anti-inflammatory treatments are required. If the condition persists for >10 days after birth, the likelihood of regaining normal function is slight. Inflammatory diseases and trauma may also result in transient glossoplegia. Glossoplegia of
central origin may accompany or follow such conditions as strangles, upper respiratory infections, meningitis, botulism, encephalomyelitis, leukoencephalomalacia, or cerebral abscessation in horses. |
| In cattle, glossoplegia may accompany severe actinobacillosis (
Actinobacillosis: Introduction). There may be complete paralysis of the tongue accompanied by necrosis of the tip. Such conditions are occasionally seen in outbreaks in feedlot cattle and may follow an initiating viral stomatitis. |
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Neoplasia: |
| Neoplasia of the mouth and lips other than viral papillomas are uncommon in younger animals. In gray horses, melanomas may develop and infiltrate the commissures of the mouth and cause hard, thickened, tumorous plaques that may not be detected until well advanced. Treatment of oral and lip melanomas in the horse is unrewarding, although prolonged cimetidine therapy may be palliative. Both verrucose and fibrous forms of equine sarcoid around the mouth should be treated as early
as possible to maintain lip function. (See also
tumors of the skin and soft tissues,
Tumors of the Skin and Soft Tissues: Introduction.) |
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Slaframine Toxicosis: |
| The causes are ingestion of forages, particularly clovers, infected with the fungus
Rhizoctonia
leguminicola
, which produces the toxic alkaloid slaframine. The only clinical signs that may be diagnostic are profuse salivation; no lesions have been described within the mouth. Usually, there is complete recovery. Differential diagnoses in large animals, particularly in ruminants, include bluetongue, vesicular stomatitis, vesicular exanthema, and foot-and-mouth disease. Removal of infected forages results in rapid recovery. |
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Stomatitis: |
| Inflammation of the mouth is a clinical sign of many diseases in large animals. Oral trauma or contact with chemical irritants (eg, horses that lick at their legs after having been blistered) may result in transient stomatitis. Traumatic injury from the ingestion of the awns of barley, foxtail, porcupine grass, and spear grass, as well as feeding on plants infested with hairy caterpillars, also will result in severe stomatitis in horses and cattle. |
| Frothy salivation and reluctance to eat or resistance to oral examination are the clinical signs of acute active stomatitis. The animal should be sedated, and the mouth examined carefully with a speculum. Any ulcers should be curetted to expose embedded foreign material, eg, grass awns, etc. If the etiology is ingestion of foreign material, changing the quality and quantity of the hay may effect recovery. Differential diagnoses include actinobacillosis, foot-and-mouth disease,
malignant catarrhal fever, and bovine viral diarrhea. Epidemic diseases such as bluetongue in ruminants, swine vesicular disease, and vesicular stomatitis in horses must be differentiated from other forms of acute noninfectious or contagious stomatitis. |
Papillar Stomatitis:
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Viral papillomas are found around the lips and mouths of all young animals, particularly in cattle from 1 mo to 2 yr old. In some instances, the rate of occurrence may be 100%. The lesions are characteristic and usually resolve spontaneously. However, in some cases, the lesions may coalesce to form cosmetically unacceptable masses around the muzzles of young horses, and owners may request therapy. Application of cryogenetics (liquid
nitrogen), use of autologous vaccines, or combinations of such therapies may be effective. |
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