Final answer:
The disease where focal compression of the spinal cord causes sensory and motor losses in animals is known as a spinal cord injury, which can result in hemiplegia. Sensory deficits vary following injury, with different patterns for loss of touch and pain sensations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The disease where focal compression of the spinal cord causes sensory and motor losses in horses and dogs is typically referred to as a spinal cord injury. In cases like a hemisection, one side of the spinal cord is damaged while the other remains intact, resulting in hemiplegia—paralysis of one side of the body. In these animals, the damage could lead to a loss of voluntary motor control on the side of the injury. Additionally, the sensory deficits following a hemisection can be complex, with variations in the loss of touch versus pain sensation.
For instance, below the level of the hemisection, pain stimuli may be perceived on the damaged side, but not fine touch. Conversely, the intact side, which retains motor function, may have normal touch sensation but altered pain perception, due to the crossing of pain fibers in the spinal cord. Consequently, the presence of such sensory and motor losses signifies the severity and implications of the disease affecting the spinal cord.