Spinal hyperostosis in humans and companion animals References

Abstract

Several disorders may lead to new bone formation affecting the vertebral column of both humans and companion animals alike. The present review focusses mainly on spondylosis deformans and DISH. Both spondylosis and DISH are prevalent in humans and are considered distinct entities. Nowadays, the term spondylosis is in the biomedical literature mostly used when also degenerative disc disease is present. In companion animals, many reports on spondylosis, often without intervertebral disc degeneration, are described. The nomenclature and the definitions of both spondylosis and DISH in biomedical and veterinary literature should be more in line to facilitate comparison. DISH and spondylosis can co-occur in one dog. Boxers may serve as translational disease models for the elucidation of the gene(s) involved in the (etio)pathogenesis of DISH or serve as a test population for newly developed treatment options.