Vertebral fractures and luxations are common causes of neurological emergencies in small-animal patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of three-dimensional printing (3Dp) models on how veterinary students understand and learn to identify canine spinal fractures and to compare 3Dp models to computed tomography (CT) images and three-dimensional CT (3D-CT) reconstructions. Three spinal fracture models were generated by 3Dp. Sixty first-year veterinary students were randomized into three teaching module groups (CT, 3D-CT, or 3Dp) and asked to answer a multiple-choice questionnaire with 12 questions that covered normal spinal anatomy and the identification of vertebral fractures. We used four additional questions to evaluate the overall learning experience and knowledge acquisition. Results showed that students in the 3Dp group performed significantly better than those in the CT ( p < .001) and the 3D-CT ( p < .001) groups. Students in the 3Dp and 3D-CT groups answered all questions more quickly than the CT group (3Dp versus CT, p < .001; 3D-CTversus CT, p < .001), with no significant differences between the 3Dp and 3D-CT groups ( p = .051). Only the degree of knowledge acquisition that the students considered they had acquired during the session showed significant differences between groups ( p = .01). In conclusion, across first-year veterinary students, 3Dp models facilitated learning about normal canine vertebral anatomy and markedly improved the identification of canine spinal fractures. Three-dimensional printing models are an easy and inexpensive teaching method that could be incorporated into veterinary neuroanatomy classes to improve learning in undergraduate students.

OBJECTIVE To describe the clinical and neurologic signs, diagnostic investigations, definitive or presumptive diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of dogs presented with acute onset central cord syndrome (CCS). ANIMALS 74 client-owned dogs evaluated for CCS at 5 referral hospitals between January 2016 and March 2021. PROCEDURES Data were collected from the medical records of each dog, including patient signalment, physical and neurologic examination results, presence of signs of respiratory failure, diagnostic imaging findings, definitive or presumptive diagnosis, treatment and follow-up information. Descriptive statistics were calculated and bivariable analysis was performed to identify associations between selected variables. RESULTS 2 neuroanatomic locations for the CCS were identified: C1-C5 spinal cord segments in 65 of 74 (88%) dogs and C6-T2 in 9 (12%) dogs. Neurolocalization did not correlate with the imaging findings in 43 (58%) dogs. Different diseases were associated with CCS. The most common condition was Hansen type I disk herniation in 27 (36%) dogs and hydrated nucleus pulposus extrusion in 16 (22%) dogs. Main lesion locations within the vertebral column associated with CCS were C3-C4 and C4-C5 intervertebral disk spaces in 21 (28%) and 18 (24%) dogs, respectively. Outcome was favorable in 69 (93%) dogs. Patients presenting with hypoventilation were 14.7 times more likely to have a poor outcome. CLINICAL RELEVANCE CCS in dogs may be seen with lesions in the C1-C5 and C6-T2 spinal cord segments. Etiologies are variable. Total or partial improvement was achieved in most dogs with the appropriate treatment. Hypoventilation was associated with death.