Ocular angiosarcoma in a pony - MRI and histopathological appearance

Abstract

Ocular angiosarcomas are an infrequent aetiology of exophthalmus in the horse. In the case presented here, a pony was referred with a history of supraorbital swelling, exophthalmus and conjunctivitis of the right eye. Radiographic and ultrasonographic examinations were used for diagnosis; however, the exact definition of the retrobulbar changes could only be made by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI shows anatomic and physiological detail in both the osseous and soft tissue structures. Only 3 sequences were used in this case: a transverse T2-weighted and a dorsal high resolution, T1-weighted gradient echo with multiplanar reconstruction capability pre- and post contrast application. This case report suggests that MRI should be used more frequently in the diagnosis of head tumours in horses.