Evaluation of the cranial tibial reflex in bitches, before and after epidural block
Keywords:
Neurological examination, reflex arc, muscle responseAbstract
Spinal reflex testing is essential to verify the existence of lower or upper motor neuron lesions and their
location in the nervous system. It was verified in cats that the so-called cranial tibial reflex is a pseudo-reflex,
with a purely muscular response. The objective of this work was to test the cranial tibial reflex in bitches,
before and after epidural block, to determine if it depends on a myotatic reflex arc. We used 40 knees of 20
healthy female dogs, aged up to 5 years and without distinction of breed, submitted to epidural anesthesia for
elective ovariohysterectomy. An evaluation and comparison of the responses of the patellar and flexor reflexes
of the hind limbs, perineal, nociception and of the cranial tibial reflex were carried out before and after the
epidural block, using a scoring scale that showed whether the response was absent, decreased, normal, or
increased. While the other reflexes and nociception disappeared after this anesthesia, the cranial tibial
remained, as it is not a true reflex-arc-dependent myotatic reflex. It was concluded after carrying out the tests
that the so-called tibial reflex described in dogs is a muscular response and not a true reflex, as already
mentioned in cats.
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