Intestinal hemangiomas in 8 horses.
Authors: Metcalfe Abbie, Craig Linden E
Journal: Veterinary pathology
Summary
Intestinal hemangiomas are benign vascular tumours that have rarely been documented in horses, making this retrospective case series from the University of Tennessee particularly valuable for clinical awareness. Metcalfe and Craig examined eight horses with pathologically confirmed intestinal hemangiomas—diagnosed either postmortem or via surgical biopsy—and found lesions were predominantly focal or multifocal nodules within the small intestine (particularly the jejunum), with one novel case involving the left dorsal colon; these discrete, raised lesions measured 2–15 mm and displayed the characteristic black-to-red appearance of cavernous haemangiomas at the microscopic level. The affected horses averaged 19.3 years of age with no apparent breed or sex predisposition, and critically, all hemangiomas appeared to be incidental findings rather than clinically significant diagnoses. For equine practitioners, this work highlights that whilst intestinal hemangiomas may occur with increasing frequency in ageing populations, they are unlikely to be the primary driver of clinical signs such as colic or weight loss—suggesting alternative diagnoses should remain the focus when investigating gastrointestinal disease in older horses. The first documented case of large colon involvement also expands the anatomical distribution recognised in equine medicine and reinforces the value of thorough histopathological examination in equine post-mortem or surgical specimens.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Intestinal hemangiomas are rare findings in horses; if discovered incidentally during surgery or necropsy, they do not appear to require treatment or carry clinical consequence
- •Jejunal hemangiomas should be included in differential diagnoses for older horses (average age 19 years) presenting with intestinal abnormalities, though these lesions are typically asymptomatic
- •First documentation of hemangioma in equine large colon expands the known distribution of this lesion type and may inform future diagnostic considerations
Key Findings
- •Intestinal hemangiomas in horses are predominantly located in the jejunum (5/7 cases) with 87.5% of lesions in the small intestine
- •Lesions are typically multifocal (5/8 cases), cavernous type, and located within the muscularis layer (6/8 cases)
- •Affected horses averaged 19.3 years of age with no breed or sex predilections identified
- •Intestinal hemangiomas are incidental findings with no clinical significance reported in this series