Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Injury of the collateral ligaments of the distal interphalangeal joint diagnosed by magnetic resonance.
- Journal:
- Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association
- Year:
- 2005
- Authors:
- Zubrod, Chad J et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
This study looked at two horses that had serious injuries to the collateral ligaments in their lower leg joints, specifically the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint. The injuries were found using a special type of imaging called magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, which showed signs of inflammation and fluid buildup in the ligaments and even in the bone of one horse. Both horses were confirmed to have these injuries during a post-mortem examination. If a horse is limping and showing pain in its foot, this type of ligament injury should be considered as a possible cause.
Abstract
We describe the clinical, imaging, and necropsy findings of two horses with severe injury of the collateral ligaments of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint diagnosed using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. In MR images it was possible to examine the collateral ligaments of the DIP joint from the origin at the middle phalanx to the insertion on the distal phalanx. Both horses in this report had abnormal high signal intensity within the collateral ligaments of the DIP joint, and one horse had abnormal high signal intensity within the bone of the distal phalanx on short tau inversion recovery (STIR) and T2-weighted imaging sequences. High signal intensity on STIR and T2-weighted images represents abnormal fluid accumulation indicative of inflammation, within ligament, tendon, or bone on these imaging sequences. Abnormalities were confirmed on necropsy in both horses. Injury of the collateral ligaments of the DIP joint should be considered as a source of pain in horses with lameness localized to the foot.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15693552/