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Osteoarthrosis of the Antebrachiocarpal Joint of 7 Riding Horses

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Abstract

Osteoarthrosis (OA) of the antebrachiocarpal joint from 7 riding horses is described. The horses were old mares and developed severe OA, with ankylosis in some of the joints. The lesions were bilateral, and the owners noticed the lameness in a late event. The cause of severe OA in these mares is not clear. The fact that OA was bilateral indicates that a single traumatic injury is unlikely as an etiologic factor. Considering the severe joint lesions it took long time before the horse-owners noticed the lameness. It is discussed if the threshold of pain is higher in the antebrachiocarpal joint compared with the middle carpal joint.

Sammanfattning

Osteoarthros i övre karpalleden från sju ridhästar.

Sju äldre ridston med en svårartad, bilateral osteoarthros i radiokarpalleden har undersökts kliniskt upprepade gånger under åren 93-98. Symtomen dominerades av en tilltagande ledstyvhet, smärta vidsammanböjning, konturstörning framtill runt leden samt hälta. Trots vila förvärrades ledbesvären ochsamtliga hästar avlivades efter en tid. Vid makroskopisk och radiologisk undersökning postmortalt påvisades förlust av ledbrosk distalt på radius och proximalt på radiokarpalbenet, ledrandsosteofyter, subkondral benscleros samt förtjockad ledkapsel med villiproliferationer. I samtliga fall har det dröjt länge innan ägarna noterat hälta. Detta kan tala för att smärttröskeln i radiokarpalleden är högre jämförtmed den i interkrapallederna. Orsaken till ostearthrosen i dessa fall har ej kunnat fastställas och uppgifter om predisponerande faktorer saknas.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Drs Ingela Liwång and Nino Gerbino for valuable discussions and Bengt Ekberg for excellent photographic assistance. The study was funded by the Sten-Erik Olsson foundation.

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Stina Ekman, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7028, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden. E-mail: Stina.Ekman@pat.slu.se, fax: 46-18-67 35 32.

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Magnusson, LE., Ekman, S. Osteoarthrosis of the Antebrachiocarpal Joint of 7 Riding Horses. Acta Vet Scand 42, 429 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-42-429

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