Spinal dysraphism in a newborn Holstein-Friesian calf

Spinal dysraphism, not associated with vertebral defect or arthrogryposis, was found in a 3-day-old Holstein-Friesian calf that was clinically diagnosed as having encephalopathy. The dysraphic lesion occurred in the sixth (C6) and seventh (C7) segments of the cervical spinal cord. Microscopically, the lesion was characterized by hydromyelia, syringomyelia, anomaly of the ventral median fissure, abnormal running of the myelinated nerve fibers in the white column, and absence of the central canal due to a developmental defect of the ependymal cells.