The guttural pouch, a small outpocketing of the auditory tube that drains the middle ear, is a characteristic feature of Perissodactyla. The guttural pouch is of particular concern in equine veterinary practice, due to its frequent involvement in some serious infections. Aspergillosis (infection with Aspergillus mould) of the guttural pouch (also called guttural pouch mycosis) can cause serious damage to the tissues of the pouch, as well as surrounding structures including important cranial nerves (nerves IX-XII: glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory and hypoglossal nerves) and the internal carotid artery. Strangles (Streptococcus equi equi infection) is a highly transmissible respiratory infection of horses that can cause pus to accumulate in the guttural pouch; horses with S. equi equi colonising their guttural pouch can continue to intermittently shed the bacteria for several months, and should be isolated from other horses during this time to prevent transmission. Due to the intermittent nature of S. equi equi shedding, prematurely reintroducing an infected horse may risk exposing other horses to the infection, even though the shedding horse appears well and may have previously returned negative samples. The function of the guttural pouch has been difficult to determine, but it is now believed to play a role in cooling blood in the internal carotid artery before it enters the brain.
the guttural pouch a small outpocketing of the auditory tube that drains the middle ear is a characteristic feature of perissodactyla the guttural pouch is of particular concern in equine veterinary practice due to its frequent involvement in some serious infections aspergillosis (infection with aspergillus mould) of the guttural pouch (also called guttural pouch mycosis) can cause serious damage to the tissues of the pouch as well as surrounding structures including important cranial nerves (nerves ix-xii glossopharyngeal vagus accessory and hypoglossal nerves) and the internal carotid artery strangles (streptococcus equi equi infection) is a highly transmissible respiratory infection of horses that can cause pus to accumulate in the guttural pouch; horses with s equi equi colonising their guttural pouch can continue to intermittently shed the bacteria for several months and should be isolated from other horses during this time to prevent transmission due to the intermittent nature of s equi equi shedding prematurely reintroducing an infected horse may risk exposing other horses to the infection even though the shedding horse appears well and may have previously returned negative samples the function of the guttural pouch has been difficult to determine but it is now believed to play a role in cooling blood in the internal carotid artery before it enters the brain