Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • What's Your Diagnosis
  • Published:

Diagnosis | Interdigital cyst

Lab Animal volume 36, pages 18–19 (2007)Cite this article

Interdigital cysts are firm, raised subcutaneous inflammatory lesions found in and on the interdigital webs of the paw. The cause is usually a traumatically ruptured hair follicle. The surrounding inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissue is due to a foreign-body reaction to the keratin and hair.

Current opinion suggests that interdigital cysts result from a combination of allergies, conformation, breed (shorthaired dogs are more commonly affected), and trauma caused by licking1. Atopy or food allergies can cause pruritus of the limb extremities and dogs lick their paws to alleviate the itching. Interdigital cysts are often seen in dog breeds predisposed to atopy, such as West Highland White Terriers2. Licking the pruritic area causes hair shafts to break, leaving the base of hair shaft in the skin and leading to a foreign-body reaction. Short-coated, deep-clefted, big-boned dogs, such as Great Danes, also seem especially predisposed to interdigital cysts3. (Interestingly, this affected beagle was the largest and heaviest beagle in its age group). The foot mechanics of big-boned dogs predisposes them to developing interdigital cysts because they end up bearing weight on hair-producing skin of the footpad. Veterinary dermatologists often try to address the poor foot mechanics in these dogs with supportive booties that tighten the foot up and bring weight back on to the footpads2.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Figure 3: Interdigital cysts on the front paw of a 3-year-old pet German Shorthaired Pointer that had been licking its foot for 10 days.
Figure 4: A draining interdigital cyst on the paw of a 4-year-old pet Great Dane.

References

  1. Scott, D.W., Miller, W.H. & Griffin, C.E. Muller & Kirk's Small Animal Dermatology, 6th edn. (W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Jackson, H. Common cutaneous diseases of the canine foot. In Pract. 21(2), 54–61 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Scarampella, F. Pododermatitis in dogs. [Italian]. Summa 18(5), 39–45 (2001).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Kovacs, M.S., McKiernan, S., Potter, D.M. & Chilappagari, S. An epidemiological study of interdigital cysts in a research beagle colony. Contemp. Top. Lab. Anim. Sci. 44(4), 17–21 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Breathnach, R.M. et al. Clinical, immunological and histopathological findings in a subpopulation of dogs with pododermatitis. Vet. Dermatol. 16(6), 364–372 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Breathnach, R.M. et al. Evaluation of Th1-like, Th2-like and immunomodulatory cytokine mRNA expression in the skin of dogs with immunomodulatory-responsive lymphocytic-plasmacytic pododermatitis. Vet. Dermatol. 17(5), 313–321 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Diagnosis | Interdigital cyst. Lab Anim 36, 18–19 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0507-18

Download citation

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0507-18

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing