Laminitis

Laminitis is a disease that affects the feet of hooved animals (ungulates) and it is found mostly in horses and cattle. Clinical signs include foot tenderness progressing to inability to walk, increased digital pulses, and increased temperature in the hooves. Severe cases with outwardly visible clinical signs are known by the colloquial term founder, and progression of the disease may lead to perforation of the coffin bone through the sole of the hoof, requiring aggressive treatment or euthanasia.

The bones of the hoof are suspended within the axial hooves of ungulates by layers of modified skin cells, known as laminae or lamellae, which act as shock absorbers during locomotion. In horses, there are about 550–600 pairs of primary epidermal laminae, each with 150–200 secondary laminae projection from their surface. These interdigitate with equivalent structures on the surface of the coffin bone (PIII, P3, the third phalanx, pedal bone, or distal phalanx), known as dermal laminae. The secondary laminae contain basal cells which attach via hemidesmosomes to the basement membrane. The basement membrane is then attached to the coffin bone via the connective tissue of the dermis.

Laminitis literally means inflammation of the laminae, and while it remains controversial whether this is the primary mechanism of disease, evidence of inflammation occurs very early in some instances of the disease. A severe inflammatory event is thought to damage the basal epithelial cells, resulting in dysfunction of the hemidesmosomes and subsequent reduction in adherence between the epithelial cells and the basement membrane. Normal forces placed on the hoof are then strong enough to tear the remaining laminae, resulting in a failure of the interdigitation of the epidermal and dermal laminae between the hoof wall and the coffin bone. When severe enough, this results in displacement of the coffin bone within the hoof capsule. Most cases of laminitis occur in both front feet, but laminitis may be seen in all four feet, both hind feet, or in cases of support limb laminitis, in a single foot.

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