Issue number 28.1 Other Scientific
Cutaneous vasculitis in dogs
Published 01/10/2020
Also available in Français , Deutsch , Italiano , Polski , Português and Español
The vasculature of the skin plays a vital role in ensuring various homeostatic mechanisms function as normal, but when disease strikes, the effects can be dramatic. Elizabeth Goodale takes an analytical look at what can go wrong.
Key Points
Cutaneous vascular diseases most commonly affect the skin over pressure points and distal extremities such as the footpads, tail, pinnae and scrotum.
True vasculitis often causes epidermal necrosis and ulceration, and patients are frequently systemically unwell.
Ischemic dermatopathy, or cell-poor vasculitis, usually causes epidermal lesions of ischemia such as alopecia and collagen changes.
Several unique familial vasculitis and vasculopathy syndromes have been reported in various breeds of dog.