[Clinical and laryngoscopic findings in a Swiss Alpine goat with left grade 4 laryngeal hemiplegia].

This case report describes the diagnostic trial of an inspiratory wheeze in a 1.5-year-old Swiss Alpine goat. Left grade 4 laryngeal hemiplegia was diagnosed via laryngoscopy, whereas the severity of the hemiplegia was assessed according to the grading system used in horses. The results of clinical, radiographic, sonographic and endoscopic examinations as well as haematological, biochemical and serological analyses did not reveal the cause of the hemiplegia. Treatment with an antibiotic and vitamin B complex resulted in only slight improvement. A postmortem examination four months later revealed no gross lesions in the left laryngeal nerve, larynx and intrinsic laryngeal musculature. Histological examination of the nerve, arytenoid cartilage and intrinsic laryngeal musculature also showed no lesions. Therefore, the cause of the disease in this goat is suspected to be on the cellular or molecular level of the intrinsic laryngeal musculature.