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Pet Health Library

Dogs + Medical Conditions

  • Abdominal enlargement is not an unusual occurrence. It can be due to a simple increase in intra abdominal fat due to weight gain but this is only one cause.

  • Various types of medication are used for pregnancy termination (abortion) in female dogs.

  • Canine haemorrhagic gastro enteritis, (HGE) is a very acute form of dysentery (bloody diarrhoea) usually combined with vomiting.

  • The medical term for Addison's disease is hypoadrenocorticism. The term indicates diminished or lowered hormone production from the outer part (cortex) of the adrenal gland.

  • Almost all tumours of adipose tissue (fat) are slow-growing and benign. They are called lipomas. The tumours are usually permanently cured by full surgical removal.

  • The two adrenal glands are closely associated with the kidneys. Each has a central medulla (approximately one fifth of the total mass of the gland) which produces adrenaline, the so-called emergency hormone.

  • Allergic reactions are very common in dogs and are fully described in a separate handout on Allergies and Hypersensitivities.

  • An allergy is an unexpected reaction that follows the second or subsequent exposure to a particular substance.

  • Allergies are common in dogs. These reactions occur when the immune system 'over-reacts' to a foreign substance (the allergen or antigen).

  • Aminocaproic acid is an agent that prevents the breakdown of fibrin, a protein needed for proper blood clotting. It has been advocated for the treatment of degenerative myelopathy (DM).