SCINTIGRAPHIC CHARACTERIZATION OF THE EQUINE FOREDIGIT AND METACARPOPHALANGEAL REGION FROM BIRTH TO SIX MONTHS OF AGE |
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| Authors: | Michael R Metcalf DVM MS Louis C Sellett MS James E Smallwood DVM MS Donald E Thrall DVM PhD Ben D Harrington DVM |
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| Institution: | Department of Anatomy, Physiological Sciences and Radiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.;Department of Food Animal and Equine Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina. |
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| Abstract: | Both foredigits and metacarpophalangeal joints of six Quarter Horse foals were scanned serially to six months of age using 99Tc-methylene diphosphonate. Dorsal scans were made on day 1 and at two, four, six, ten, 14, 18, 22 and 26 weeks of age. Scans were assessed visually for distal third metacarpal, proximal phalangeal, and middle phalangeal physeal appearance and closure. Scans were also evaluated by computer region-of-interest (ROI) and line-profile analysis to characterize the physes quantitatively. Physeal region radioactivity relative to a disphyseal reference region was greatest at four weeks for all physes. Scintigraphic physeal closure of all physes occurred at approximately six months of age with a range of four and one half to greater than six months. The study was conducted to allow better assessment of diffuse and focal physeal disease by determining developmental times at which normal physeal region radioactivity has decreased enough to not obscure abnormal radioactivity and by quantifying scintigraphic physeal appearance which enables computer analysis to detect visually indeterminate physeal abnormalities. |
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| Keywords: | scintigraphy horse digit metacarpophalangeal region |
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