EQUINE LIMBS Flashcards
Why might we want to take radiographs of the musculoskeletal system
-Answer the clinical questions/ confirm clinical suspision
-Document the extent of the disease +/- progression
-Provide images to direct treatment
Where do equine limb radiographs fit into our workup?
-History
-Physical exam
-Lameness exam
-Nerve blocks
-Narrowed differential list
-Use radiographs to rule out clinical suspicion
Why might we take radiographs of horses
To look for change associated with
-Osteoarthritis
-Osteochondrosis
-Trauma/fractures
-Infection
-Neoplasia
T/F: osseous neoplasia is common in horses so radiographs are a valuable diagnostic tool in diagnosing this
False- although they are valuable
osseous neoplasia is uncommon in horses
What can you see on radiographs
1) Bones
2) Soft tissue and fat
3) The space where cartilage lives
What are the 5 opacities
1) Gas/Air
2) Fat
3) Soft tissue
4) Mineral
5) Metal
What also affects the opacity we see on radiograph
the thickness/volume of the tissue
Radiographs are _____ for bone but ______ for soft tissues
good for bone- highest spatial resolution for all modalities (but can only get 2D)
Poor for soft tissues but can give you clues about possible soft tissue injury / involvement
Radiographs are poor for soft tissue but can
but can give you clues about possible soft tissue injury/ involvement
How is cross-sectional imaging like CT for the equine musculoskeletal imaging
good for bone (less spatial resolution than radiographs)
ok for soft tissues
How is cross-sectional imaging like MRI for equine musculoskeletal imaging
ok for bones (Less spacial resolution than radiographs and CT (ie less detail)
great for soft tissues
Are radiographs, CT, or MRI best at soft tissues
MRI
Rank the following modalities in spatial resolution on bone
Radiographs >CT> MRI
Proximal to the radiocarpal and tarsocrural joint we use what directional terms
Cranial/Caudal
Distal to the radiocarpal and tarsocrural joint we use what directional term?
Dorsal and palmar/plantar
At what joint in the front limb do we distinguish cranial/caudal vs dorsal/palmar
radiocarpal
At what joint in the hind limb do we distinguish cranial/caudal vs dorsal/plantar
tarsocrural
Why is more than one projection important
to see the different views and know where things are
How many views/projections do we take?
Depends on the joint/region
From the carpus/tarsus to the pastern region generally a minimum of four projections for each region
-often more projections for the foot
-fewer for the upper limb as we are restricted by anatomy that gets in the way
Why do we take fewer views/ projections of the upper limb
because we are restricted as anatomy gets in the way
For carpus/tarsus to the pastern region we generally take _________
generally a minimum of four projections for each region
1) Lateromedial
2) Dorsopalmar
3) DLPMO
4) DMPLO
radiographic projections are named after
the path of the xray beam from the generator to the plate
the path of the xray beam from the generator to the plate
how radiographic projections are named
Where does the beam enter vs exit in a latero-medial projection
Lateral side- where the beam enters
Medial side- where the beam exits (plate side)