Acute spinal cord injury: tetraplegia and paraplegia in small animals.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common problem in animals for which definitive treatment is lacking, and information gained from its study has benefit for both companion animals and humans in developing new therapeutic approaches. This review provides an overview of the main concepts that are useful for clinicians in assessing companion animals with severe acute SCI. Current available advanced ancillary tests and those in development are reviewed. In addition, the current standard of care for companion animals following SCI and recent advances in the development of new therapies are presented, and new predictors of recovery discussed.