Degenerative Disk Disease, Canine - contd.
Degeneration of a vertebral disk may result in eventual protrusion, or herniation, of the disk into the spinal canal with impingement of the spinal cord. In dogs with chondrodystrophy, genetic predisposition to disintegration of a disk combines with the normal forces of weight bearing and motion about the joints of the spinal column to cause vertebral disk degeneration and herniation. Large, older dogs without chondrodystrophy develop disk degeneration and herniation from long-standing stresses on the spine alone.
