Diagnostic Imaging: Bone

Question 1

When radiography limbs, what can you look for in the soft tissues?

Answer 1

Swelling
Muscle wastage
Foreign material
Gas
Effusion

Question 2

What is the best way to check the alignement of bones on radiographs?

Answer 2

Check alignment with adjacent bones

Question 3

List five things that you can look at when looking at the cortices of bone

Answer 3

Outline - overall shape
Continuous? - nutrient foramen
Thickness - evidence
Periosteal surface - abnormal prominence or irregularity
Endosteal surface - changes are less easy to see

Question 4

Describe what you should look for when looking at radiographs of medullary bone

Answer 4

Integrity of trabecular pattern
Changes in opacity

Question 5

Which age and breeds are predisposed to panosteitis?

Answer 5

Usually <12 months old (reported up to 7 years)
Large breeds, especially GSD

Question 6

Which bones does panosteitis usually affect and how is it seen on radiographs?

Answer 6

Affects long bones
On radiographs, medullary bone has increased opacity.

Question 7

List three things that you can look at when radiographing articular surfaces

Answer 7

Contours of surfaces
Subchondral bone
Congruity

Question 8

What are the two main responses of bone to injury/disease?

Answer 8

Bone loss or bone production

Question 9

Describe how you may see bone loss on radiographs

Answer 9

Overall opacity reduces relative soft tissues
Thinning of cortices
Loss/thinning of medullary trabeculae

Question 10

How much mineral loss is required in bone before it becomes radiographically apparent?

Answer 10

40%

Question 11

List three multi/focal causes of bone loss

Answer 11

Infection
Neoplasia
Trauma

Question 12

List two diffuse causes of bone loss

Answer 12

Disuse
Nutritional/metabolic

Question 13

List four causes of bone production

Answer 13

Trauma
Neoplasia
Infection
Miscellaneous

Question 14

List three features of an agressive, bone producing neoplasia.

Answer 14

Mixed production/destruction
No well-defined margin to lesion
Long ‘zone of transition’

Question 15

List four features of a benign, bone producing neoplasia

Answer 15

Well marginated
Short ‘zone of transition’
Smooth, thinned cortices
Expansile but no cortical destruction

Question 16

List two types of infection that will cause bone production and how this appears in the bone.

Answer 16

Haematogenous and osteomyelitis
Localises to metaphyses and has a mixed prodcution/lysis of bone

Question 17

Which breeds are predisposed to a craniomandibular osteopathy and how does it show on a radiograph?

Answer 17

Terrier breeds
New bone on mandible/tympanic bullae/calvarium

Question 18

How does hypertrophic osteopathy show on radiographs?

Answer 18

New bone production on the limb in response to a space-occupying lesion in the thorax or abdomen
‘Palisading’ periosteal new bone

Question 19

How does calcinosis circumscripta present on radiographs?

Answer 19

Soft tissue mineralisation on ‘pressure points’

Question 20

Describe how you can ‘age’ fractures from radiographs

Answer 20

Recent - ends well defined
7-10 days - rounder, less well defined ends
10-14 days - periosteal new bone
4-6 weeks - bony unionn
Remodelling thereafter

Question 21

What is the difference between luxations and subluxations?

Answer 21

Luxations - complete separation
Subluxation - partial contact

Question 22

Describe how nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism will show on a radiograph

Answer 22

Generalised decrease in bone opacity
Thin cortices
Pathological completes or folding fractures
Normal growth plates

Question 23

How may renal secondary hyperparathyroidism present
on radiographs?

Answer 23

Due to chronic renal failure
Skull most affected (rubber jaw)
Usually older animals

Question 24

Which radiological features may you see in a case of rickets?

Answer 24

Wide physes
Flared metaphyses
Overall mineralisation normal

Question 25

What causes rickets?

Answer 25

Lack of vitamin D

Question 26

Where is hypervitaminosis A seen on a radiograph?

Answer 26

Periosteal new bone on cervical spine, rest of spine and limb joints