The navicular bone is a small, boat-shaped bone located in the hoof of a horse, specifically situated behind the coffin bone and beneath the deep digital flexor tendon. It plays a role in the biomechanics of the equine foot by acting as a fulcrum for the deep digital flexor tendon, aiding in the horse's movement and weight distribution. The navicular bone is part of the navicular apparatus, which includes surrounding ligaments and the bursa, a fluid-filled sac that reduces friction. Issues with the navicular bone and associated structures can lead to a condition known as navicular syndrome, which is characterized by lameness and pain in the front feet. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the anatomy, function, and pathophysiology of the navicular bone, as well as diagnostic and treatment options for navicular-related conditions in horses.
Frean SP, Gettinby G, May SA, Lees P.Proteoglycan (PG) release, in response to recombinant human interleukin-1beta (rh-IL-1beta), was measured in cartilage explants obtained from the equine distal sesamoid bone (navicular bone). Fibrocartilage from the surface of the navicular bone apposing the deep digital flexor tendon and hyaline cartilage from the surface of the navicular bone articulating with the middle phalanx were labelled with 35SO4. Hyaline cartilage from the distal metacarpus was used as a control tissue. Following radiolabel incorporation, the three cartilage types were treated with rh-IL-1beta (100 U/mL) in the prese...
Schramme MC, Boswell JC, Hamhougias K, Toulson K, Viitanen M.Numerous different techniques for injection of the navicular bursa have been described but there is little conformity between these descriptions. A literature review was performed and techniques for injection of the navicular bursa were categorised into 5 approaches. This study was performed to evaluate the reproducibility of each technique and to assess which technique was consistently most successful. Five inexperienced operators performed each technique on 5 cadaver forelimbs. Once a needle had been placed, a radiograph was taken to confirm placement was in accordance with the description o...
Widmer WR, Buckwalter KA, Fessler JF, Hill MA, VanSickle DC, Ivancevich S.Radiographic evaluation of navicular syndrome is problematic because of its inconsistent correlation with clinical signs. Scintigraphy often yields false positive and false negative results and diagnostic ultrasound is of limited value. Therefore, we assessed the use of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in a horse with clinical and radiographic signs of navicular syndrome. Cadaver specimens were examined with spiral computed tomographic and high-field magnetic resonance scanners and images were correlated with pathologic findings. Radiographic changes consisted of bony remodel...
Meijer MC, Rijkenhuizen AB.A 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare was admitted to the clinic with a 1-month history of lameness of the left hind leg. After clinical and radiological examinations and an bursascopy, the diagnosis navicular disease was made. The therapy consisted of stallrest, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and orthopaedic shoeing plus intrabursal injections of short-acting corticosteroids and hyaluronic acid. The therapy was repeated following recurrence of the lameness. According to the owner the horse is currently performing at its previous level.
Ruohoniemi M, Tervahartiala P.Computed tomography (CT) was performed on 12 Finnhorse cadaver forefeet with known radiographic changes in the navicular bone (poor corticomedullary junction, irregular appearance of the flexor central eminence, uneven or unequal thickness of the flexor cortex, and/or irregular outline of the proximal or distal flexor margin). The purpose was to confirm the radiographic findings and to investigate if further information of the flexor aspect of the bone could be gained with CT. In CT, the midsagittal outline as well as the internal structure of the bones varied greatly. Different combinations o...
Williams GE, Silverman BW, Wilson AM, Goodship AE.To assess the force plate as a diagnostic aid in equine locomotor abnormalities, particularly for abnormalities such as navicular disease that do not have specific diagnostic criteria. Methods: 17 Thoroughbreds without observable locomotor abnormalities (group A), 6 Thoroughbreds with superficial digital flexor tendon injury (group B), and 8 Thoroughbreds with navicular disease (group C). Methods: Using a force plate, ground reaction force patterns were recorded at the trot. Peak limb vertical force and force/time curve parameters were derived from 4 identifiable points at the beginning and en...
Gabriel A, Jolly S, Detilleux J, Dessy-Doize C, Collin B, Reginster JY.Navicular bones from the 4 limbs of 95 horses, classified in 9 categories, were studied. The anatomical bases were established for the morphometry of the navicular bone and its variations according to the category of horse, after corrections were made for front or rear limb, sex, weight, size and age. In ponies, navicular bone measurements were smallest for light ponies and regularly increased with body size, but in horses, navicular bone dimensions were smallest for the athletic halfbred, intermediate for draft horse, thoroughbreds and sedentary halfbreds and largest for heavy halfbreds. The ...
Willemen MA, Savelberg HH, Barneveld A.This study quantifies both the intended effect of orthopaedic shoeing to decrease the load on the navicular bone and the eventual undesired effects on gait performance. The compressive force exerted by the deep digital flexor tendon on the navicular bone and on the quality of the trot and redistribution of forces over the flexor tendons and the suspensory ligament were studied as a function of orthopaedic shoeing in 12 sound Dutch Warmblood horses. A modified CODA-3 gait analysis system and a force plate were used to quantify objectively the load on the lower limb. The quality of the trot was ...
Wright IM, Phillips TJ, Walmsley JP.A technique for evaluation of the navicular bursa using a 4 mm 25 degrees inclined view arthroscope is described. This allows examination of the palmar/plantar surface of the navicular bone, the insertions of the navicular suspensory, T and impar ligaments, the bursal synovium and the dorsal surface of the deep digital flexor tendon. The technique was used in 16 horses with punctures of the navicular bursa. Procedures facilitated by the technique were bursal lavage, removal of pannus, synovial resection and debridement of lesions on the palmar/plantar surface of the bone and in the deep digita...
Bowker RM, Van Wulfen KK, Springer SE, Linder KE.To examine macro- and microscopic characteristics of cartilage of the distal phalanx (ungual cartilage [UC]) and digital cushion in the equine foot and to relate them to the foot's function of energy dissipation. Methods: 85 horses and 5 foals of various breeds and ages. Methods: Feet, obtained at necropsy, were perfused with India ink (n = 30), latex (5), or polymer plastic (10). Select feet were examined histologically for tissue architecture and to identify elastic fibers. Immunochemistry to identify substance P peptides in nerves (feet from foals) and gold chloride impregnation of axons (n...
Whitton RC, Buckley C, Donovan T, Wales AD, Dennis R.A cadaver limb from an eight-year-old horse with right forelimb lameness that was relieved with an intra-articular distal interphalangeal joint block was imaged with radiographs, spiral computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Spiral CT demonstrated several lucencies within the deep digital flexor tendon immediately proximal to the navicular bone. On MRI these areas had increased signal and there was enlargement of the tendon at this site. Effusion in the proximal interphalangeal joint and navicular bursa and thinning of the fibrocartilage of the navicular bone were also ...
Wright IM, Kidd L, Thorp BH.Forelimb navicular bones and associated soft tissues were collected from 3 groups of horses and subjected to pathological examinations. The groups consisted of 38 horses with clinical navicular disease (ND) and 2 control groups, with no history of forelimb lameness, consisting of 25 age-matched mature horses (A-MC) and 9 immature horses (IC). Histological and histomorphometric studies were performed on tissue samples from 10 ND, 10 A-MC and 5 IC horses. Gross changes seen only in ND horses included: full thickness defects in the palmar surface fibrocartilage, palmar cortex erosion, medullary l...
Ruohoniemi M, Ryhänen V, Tulamo RM.Radiographic findings in the navicular bone and distal interphalangeal joint as well as the ossification status of the collateral cartilages of the distal phalanx were evaluated in 100 Finnhorse cadaver forefeet. The most common shapes of the proximal articular margin of the navicular bone were convex and straight. Remodeling of the navicular bone was common, especially on the lateral extremity. No bony fragments were identified at the distal flexor margin even though this area appeared irregular in several feet. Several large, rounded or lollipop-shaped synovial invaginations were identified ...
Gabriel A, Yousfi S, Detilleux J, Dessy-Doizé C, Bernard C.Navicular bones collected from the four limbs of 95 sound horses were studied. The anatomic bases have been laid down about morphometry of the navicular bones and their variations according to limbs, after corrections have been made for morphologic type, gender, weight, size and age. All the dimensions of the navicular bone (except for the thickness) were larger in the fore limb. This phenomenon probably reflects an attempt to compensate for the greater forces exerted upon the fore limbs during exercise and at rest. Navicular bones collected from the four limbs of 61 sound horses were studied ...
Pleasant RS, Moll HD, Ley WB, Lessard P, Warnick LD.To determine if intra-articular anesthesia of the distal interphalangeal joint could alleviate lameness associated with the navicular bursa in horses. Methods: Experimental investigation. Methods: Six clinically normal horses. Methods: Lameness was induced in each horse by injecting either the left or right front navicular bursa with 5 mg of amphotericin-B. Forty-eight hours later each horse was videotaped walking and trotting before, and 5, 30, and 60 minutes after injecting the distal interphalangeal joint of the treated limb with 5 mL of 2% mepivacaine hydrochloride. All video recordings we...
Bowker RM, Linder K, Van Wulfen KK, Sonea IM.The anatomy of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint in the adult horse is described in relationship to the suspensory ligaments of the navicular bone, the neurovascular bundle and the sensory nerves to these periarticular regions. Using polymer plastic injections, the synovial cavity of the DIP joint was observed to have a complex relationship to the proximal suspensory or collateral sesamoidean ligament (CSL) of the navicular bone with the cavity forming cranial and caudal compartments around the CSL abaxially. Sensory nerves, as identified by peptide immunocytochemistry and silver/gold chl...
Ruohoniemi M, Raekallio M, Tulamo RM, Salonius K.One hundred Finnhorse cadaver front feet were measured and examined both radiographically and visually to report the incidence of various foot problems and their relationship to ossification of the cartilages of the foot. Ossification extending above the proximal border of the navicular bone and/or separate centres of ossification were found in 36 feet, and the lateral cartilages showed more ossification than the medial cartilages. The feet were generally broad with well developed frogs, but the long toe-low heel syndrome was a relatively common finding. Ossification of the cartilages correlat...
Keegan KG, Wilson DA, Kreeger JM, Ellersieck MR, Kuo KC, Li Z.To evaluate the distribution of mepivacaine hydrochloride after distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint injection in horses. Methods: Prospective, uncontrolled study. Methods: 10 adult horses. Methods: 30 minutes before euthanasia, 8 ml of 2% mepivacaine hydrochloride was injected into the dorsal pouch of a forelimb DIP joint. Synovial tissue from the DIP joint and podotrochlear (navicular) bursa and bone tissue from the medullary cavity of the distal sesamoid (navicular) bone were taken from both forelimbs immediately after death. All synovial and bone specimens were analyzed for tissue concentrat...
Keegan KG, Wilson DA, Lattimer JC, Twardock AR, Ellersieck MR.To evaluate distribution and intensity of 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP) uptake in the navicular area in horses with forelimb lameness isolated to the palmar aspect of the foot. Methods: Prospective, case-controlled study. Methods: 7 horses with clinical signs of navicular syndrome and 7 control horses. Methods: Palmar view, soft tissue-phase scintigraphic images of the foot were obtained between 7 and 12 minutes after injection of 120 to 170 mCi of 99mTc-MDP. Lateral and palmar view, bone-phase images were obtained at 30 minutes and 1, 2, and 4 hours after injection. Palmar views w...
Bell BT, Bridge IS, Sullivan ST.Seventeen horses diagnosed as having navicular syndrome on the basis of history, clinical findings, regional local anaesthesia and radiography were subjected to bilateral navicular suspensory desmotomy. Before surgery, the duration of navicular lameness ranged from 6 weeks to 4 years. Previous unsuccessful treatments prior to surgery included nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, corrective shoeing, rest and isoxsuprine. For the seventeen horses subject to surgery, twelve horses were sound, one horse was improved and four horses were lame at a minimum of 6 months after surgery.
Meier HP.The genetic predisposition to navicular disease is proven nowadays, but otherwise, etiology and pathogenesis are still unclear. Causal therapy isn't possible and because of the poor prognosis, neurectomy is still of bearing. This operation was performed already 200 years ago, but in the middle of the last century, critical voices have been raised in regard to the surgical procedure and its indication both for medical reasons and breeding. Clear instructions for exclusion of diseased animals from breeding are also older than one hundred years. These facts call for ethic considerations which con...
Dik KJ, van den Broek J.From progeny lists of 30 Dutch Warmblood sires, 586 3-year-old females by these stallions were randomly selected, each progeny group aimed at 20 animals for statistical reasons. The front feet of the sires and female progeny were examined radiographically using lateromedial and dorsopalmar upright pedal projections. The radiological features associated with navicular disease were classified 0-4 using a standardised classification, grades 3 and 4 representing the more severe changes. The shape of the proximal articular border of the navicular bone outline on the dorsopalmar view was classified ...
Breit S, König HE.20 extremities of horses were used to investigate the synovial membrane of the distal interphalangeal joint and the navicular bursa. From each extremity five specimens were taken from the distal interphalangeal joint capsule, two further from the navicular bursa. Synovial villi were found near the articular cartilage as well as everywhere where the joint capsule did not form a tight periostal cover or was not connected with ligaments or tendons. Some lay between the articular surfaces of the phalanx media and phalanx distalis. Besides synovial villi and synovial folds "trabecular-like" cords o...
Honnas CM, Crabill MR, Mackie JT, Yarbrough TB, Schumacher J.Six horses with septic navicular bursitis or distal sesamoid osteomyelitis were treated by means of surgical debridement and lavage, followed by packing of the wound created in the bottom of the foot with an autogenous cancellous bone graft. Two horses were euthanatized, one 18 months after surgery because of complications in the contralateral support limb, and one 68 days after surgery because of continuing severe lameness. Four horses were alive 9, 16, 21, and 42 months after surgery. One horse was used as a broodmare and did not have observable lameness. Two horses were being ridden. The re...
Keller H, Grundmann S.X-rays of 205 horses having navicular disease and having been reexamined up to six times are evaluated. For this, the x-rays of each foreleg are evaluated in the dorsopalmar (Oxspring) and lateromedial view. Additionally to changes of the navicular bone, changes of the distal part of the toe are also assessed. Differences can be found in the radiographic process in view of the limitation of vascular foramina and cyst-like lesions. Vascular foramina with sclerotic rim grow less frequent than poorly defined ones and therefore allow for easier prognostication. Cyst-like lesions with sclerotic rim...
Bowker RM, Linder K, Sonea IM, Holland RE.The sensory innervation of the navicular bone (os sesamoideum distale) and its suspensory ligaments [ligamenta sesamoidea collateralia (CSL) and ligamentum sesamoideum distale impar or distal sesamoidean impar (DS-impar) ligament] and the navicular bursa (podotrochlearis) was examined in the neonatal foal using immunocytochemistry. With antisera raised to substance P (SP) and human calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), immunoreactive nerves were demonstrated to innervate the CSL and navicular bursa. Within CSL, and SP- and CGRP-like nerves were present in the synovial lining of the navicular...
Jimenez MM, Kirker-Head CA, Jakowski RM, O'Callaghan MW.Hypoplasia affecting both hind limbs was observed in a neonatal foal. Scintigraphy aided in establishing diagnosis and prognosis. Radiography revealed an abnormally shaped middle phalanx and lack of the distal phalanx and navicular bone in the right hind limb, with an abnormally shaped distal phalanx and navicular bone in the left hind limb. Scintigraphic findings were closely correlated with the radiographic findings. Radiographic and scintigraphic findings were confirmed at postmortem examination.
Bowker RM, Rockershouser SJ, Linder K, Vex KB, Sonea IM, Caron JP.The innervation of the navicular bone (os sesamoideum distale) and its suspensory ligaments (ligamenta sesamoidea collateralia) (CSL) or proximal suspensory ligament and the ligamentum sesamoideum distale impar or the distal sesamoidean impar ligament (DS-impar ligament) was examined using combined anatomical techniques of silver impregnation and immunocytochemistry. Silver impregnation studies revealed an abundance of nerve fibres present in both the CSL and DS-impar ligament with the latter having relatively more nerve fibres. These silver-impregnated nerves coursed parallel to and were asso...
Lopes MS, Diesterbeck U, da Câmara Machado A, Distl O.Navicular disease or podotrochlosis is one of the main causes of progressive forelimb lameness in warmblood horses. The objective of this study was to refine a quantitative trait locus on horse chromosome 2 for radiological alterations in the contour of the navicular bone (RAC) in Hanoverian warmblood horses. Genotyping was performed in 192 Hanoverian warmblood horses from 17 paternal half-sib groups. The marker set was extended to 58 informative microsatellites including nine newly developed microsatellites. QTL for RAC could be delineated at 32.50-43.13 Mb and a further new QTL for RAC could...
Scandella M, Lazzaretti SS, De Zani D, Cassano M, Zani DD, Ravasio G, Gualtieri M.Tenoscopy of the navicular bursa has been recently introduced as a diagnostic and therapeutic treatment in cases of palmar foot pain syndrome. A deep digital flexor tendon transthecal approach was suggested in 1999, and the endoscopic technique has been reviewed. Smith and coworkers have recently reported good and promising results. An anatomic cadaver limb study was performed, and the endoscopic technique was evaluated. Subsequently, a 14-year-old Argentine mare, affected by palmar foot pain syndrome, was treated. Clinical data, MRI and endoscopic findings, and a 6-month follow-up evaluation ...
Sherlock CE, Kinns J, Mair TS.The records of 41 horses with previously undiagnosed foot pain that had been examined by standing magnetic resonance imaging were reviewed and follow-up information was obtained from their owners two years after the examination. A range of soft tissue and osseous abnormalities were identified, with multiple lesions frequently occurring. Deep digital flexor tendonitis was recorded in 12 of the horses, and distension of the distal interphalangeal joint was identified in 15, but it was not always associated with lameness; in contrast, distension of the navicular bursa was always associated with l...
Dik KJ, van den Belt AJ, Enzerink E, van Weeren PR.The aim of this study was to monitor the postnatal radiographic development of the proximal and distal double contours and the modelling of the shape of the proximal articular border. In mature horses, the proximal and distal contours of the navicular bone on dorsopalmar dorsoproximal-palmarodistal oblique (upright pedal) radiographs are commonly visualised as 2 lines, one being the articular border and the second representing the border of the cortex facing the deep digital flexor tendon (flexor border). The shape of the proximal articular border may be concave, undulating, straight or convex...
Berry CR, Pool RR, Stover S, O'Brien TR, Koblik PD.The source of a previously described radiolucent crescent in the flexor cortex of the distal sesamoid (navicular) bone on the palmaro45 degrees proximal-palmarodistal oblique (Pa45 degrees Pr-PaDio) clinical radiographic projection was investigated in 48 forelimb navicular bones from 24 Thoroughbreds by use of high-detail radiography and x-ray computed tomography (CT). Twenty-five of these bones also were evaluated, using microradiography and histologic examinations. Of these 25 bones, 5 had been labeled in vivo with fluorochrome markers. Tetrachrome-stained 100-microns-thick nondecalcified se...
de Zani D, Polidori C, di Giancamillo M, Zani DD.There are few studies on the correlations between radiographic measurements of the foot and abnormalities of specific structures found with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Objective: To document the relationship between radiographic measurements of the equine foot and the presence of lesions in the foot on MRI. We hypothesised that different radiographic measurements would be associated with specific lesions detected by MRI. Methods: Retrospective analysis of radiographs and MRI studies. Methods: Seventy-four feet from 52 lame horses were included. Twenty parameters were measured on radiogra...
Viitanen M, Bird J, Maisi P, Smith R, Tulamo RM, May S.As a prerequisite for the identification of navicular disease markers, the concentrations of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), total glycosaminoglycans (GAG), hyaluronan, metalloproteinases (MMP) 2 and 9 and total protein were measured in synovial fluid samples obtained from the distal interphalangeal joint (DIP), the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCP) and the navicular bursa of 24 horses. Mean GAG, COMP and total protein levels were significantly higher in the DIP joint and in the navicular bursa compared to the MCP joint. Hyaluronan content was lower. MMP -2 activity was present in al...
Svalastoga E, Nielsen K.The histopathological changes in the synovial membrane of bursa podotrochlearis are described in horses with navicular disease. The changes are compared to the histopathological findings in synovial membrane of arthrotic pastern joints in horses and of arthrotic hips in man. A high degree of concordance is demonstrated and this suggests that navicular disease is an arthrotic disease.
Rijkenhuizen AB, Németh F, Dik KJ, Goedegebuure SA, Van de Brom WE.The clinical, radiographic, arteriographic, scintigraphic and histological effects of experimental occlusion of the Ramus navicularis (R. Navicularis) and its branching arteries are evaluated. Occlusion of the R. navicularis and its branching arteries creates changes, arteriographically and histologically, which resemble those of navicular disease. The increased bone remodelling, the shift in arterial pattern, the formation of collaterals and the increased connective tissue in the synovial membrane and nutrient foramina, as a reaction to the reduction of the distal arterial supply of the navic...
Hunter BG, Duesterdieck-Zellmer KF, Larson MK.Anecdotal accounts of tiludronate administration via intravenous regional limb perfusion (IVRLP) exist despite a lack of information regarding safety for synovial structures in the perfused area. The objective of this study was to determine whether tiludronate concentrations in synovial structures after IVRLP with low dose (0.5 mg, LDT) or high dose (50 mg, HDT) tiludronate remain below a value demonstrated in vitro to be safe for articular cartilage (<19,000 ng/ml), and to determine effects of tiludronate on synovial fluid cytology variables compared to saline perfused control limbs. Using...
Young AC, Dimock AN, Puchalski SM, Murphy B, Spriet M.Osseous resorption of the flexor surface of the distal phalanx of the horse has been identified previously using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging; however, little is known about the prevalence and characteristics of this lesion. Objective: To establish the MR prevalence of resorptive lesions in the flexor surface of the distal phalanx and identify concurrent lesions associated with this finding and associations between the MR and radiographic findings. Methods: Horses with distal extremity MR and radiographs performed within 2 weeks of each other were included in the study. The flexor surface o...
Sannajust K, Spriet M, Anishchenko S, Beylin D.Maximal standardized uptake values (SUV ) are commonly used for the interpretation of PET studies. Limited information regarding the SUV of F-NaF PET in horses is currently available in the literature. The goals of this retrospective secondary analysis study were to provide reference values for F-NaF SUV in the equine distal extremity and assess the effect of attenuation correction. Nonattenuation corrected (NAC) and CT-based attenuation corrected (CTAC) SUV were obtained from 19 feet and 19 fetlocks. Twenty regions of interest (ROIs) were defined for the foot and 22 for the fetlock. Areas p...
Osborn ML, Cornille JL, Blas-Machado U, Uhl EW.Navicular syndrome has been traditionally characterized by progressive lameness with chronic degeneration of the navicular bone. Advances in imaging techniques have revealed that its associated soft tissue structures are also affected. This distribution of lesions is explained by conceptualizing the equine navicular apparatus as an enthesis organ that facilitates the dissemination of mechanical stress throughout the tissues of the foot. The navicular apparatus has the same structural adaptations to mechanical stress as the human Achilles tendon complex. These adaptations efficiently dissipate ...
Olive J, Videau M.Macroscopic studies have suggested a link between distal border synovial invaginations of the navicular bone and the distal interphalangeal joint. However, many practitioners consider that these invaginations are directly and solely related to navicular disease. The objective was to investigate the communication pattern of these synovial invaginations with the synovial compartments of the distal interphalangeal joint and the navicular bursa, using minimally invasive imaging techniques. Methods: In a prospective observational study, 10 cadaveric limbs with radiographically evident distal border...
Wright IM.The 118 horses diagnosed as suffering from navicular disease by prospective criteria were treated by desmotomy of the ligamenta sesamoidea collateralia (navicular suspensory desmotomy). Three techniques were used and a standard post-operative programme was followed with clinical and radiological evaluations at 6-monthly intervals for periods of 6-36 months after surgery. At 6 and 36 months after treatment, 76% and 42.9% of horses were sound respectively. The clinical features of age, period of lameness, severity of lameness and angular limb deformities adversely affected response to surgery. T...
MacDonald JL, Richter RA, Wimer CL.Ultrasonography is an established diagnostic test for evaluating horses with foot pain due to suspected podotrochlear apparatus pathology. However, variations from the previously reported normal appearance of the distal sesamoidean impar ligament have not always coincided with lameness. The objective of this prospective, cross-sectional, descriptive study was to characterize variations in the ultrasonographic appearance of the distal sesamoidean impar ligament in sound horses using the transcuneal approach. Transcuneal ultrasonography of the distal sesamoidean impar ligament was performed on s...
Hontoir F, Paques F, Simon V, Balau B, Nicaise C, Clegg P, Dugdale A, Vandeweerd JM.Foot pain is a frequent cause of lameness in horses and can involve multiple structures within the hoof. The T-ligament (an anatomical structure connecting the synovium of the distal interphalangeal joint, the digital flexor tendon sheath and the navicular bursa) is poorly described. Five pairs of equine cadaver distal forelimbs were collected from a slaughterhouse. Sagittal sections (medial, middle and lateral) were obtained and processed with Haematoxylin Eosin Safran, Unna's Orcein, and Picrosirius red stains. Histological assessment revealed that the T-ligament was covered by the surroundi...
Perrin R, Diguet AC, Cantet P, Bailly C, Brogniez L, Dugdale A, Nisolle JF, Vandeweerd JM.Synovitis of the navicular bursa is common in performance horses. The objective of this study was to describe an ultrasound-guided technique to inject a distended navicular bursa and to evaluate its feasibility for use by a clinician not trained in the technique. Twenty distal limbs of horses of various breeds and sizes were used. To produce synovial distension, the navicular bursa of each limb was injected with contrast medium using a lateral approach and radiography was performed to confirm that the contrast medium was distending the bursa. The digit was positioned with the distal interphala...
Komosa M, Purzyc H, Fraackowiak H.The main aim of the study was to compare the shape of navicular bones classified as normal and pathologically changed. A comparison of metric features of the navicular bone between different types of horses and associating the examined parameters to the size of the middle and distal phalanges was an additional aspect of the study. The material comprised 53 horses of various breeds which were divided into three types. Through anatomical examinations it was concluded that as many as 30 navicular bones were normal, while 23 were found to present pathological changes. The following methods of stat...
Bowker RM, Linder K, Van Wulfen KK, Sonea IM.The anatomy of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint in the adult horse is described in relationship to the suspensory ligaments of the navicular bone, the neurovascular bundle and the sensory nerves to these periarticular regions. Using polymer plastic injections, the synovial cavity of the DIP joint was observed to have a complex relationship to the proximal suspensory or collateral sesamoidean ligament (CSL) of the navicular bone with the cavity forming cranial and caudal compartments around the CSL abaxially. Sensory nerves, as identified by peptide immunocytochemistry and silver/gold chl...
Wright IM.Dorsoproximal-palmarodistal oblique, lateromedial and palmaroproximal-palmarodistal oblique radiographic projections were used with standard techniques to examine 118 horses with clinical signs of navicular disease. All radiological features which have previously been reported as significant changes in the navicular bones of horses with navicular disease were recorded. Comparisons were made between these features in lame limbs and sound limbs in unilaterally lame horses and most lame limbs and least lame limbs in bilateral but asymmetrically lame animals. Their relationship to the degree of la...
Modransky P, Thatcher CD, Welker FH, Booth LC.This research journal article documents a rare case of a five-day-old foal suffering from a congenitally malformed hoof and the associated lameness. The disorders studied were unilateral navicular bone agenesis […]
Rose RJ, Allen JR, Hodgson DR, Kohnke JR.A peripheral vasodilating agent, isoxsuprine hydrochloride, administered as an oral paste, was evaluated to determine its efficacy for the treatment of navicular disease. In a clinical trial, 13 horses with navicular disease were treated at a dose rate of 0.6 mg/kg body weight (bwt) twice daily for periods of six to 14 weeks. Twelve of the horses became completely sound while being treated, although two required a 50 per cent increase in dose. Nine of the horses have remained sound two to 10 months after ceasing therapy. In a controlled randomised double blind clinical trial, 16 horses with na...
Wright IM.The technique of navicular suspensory desmotomy for the treatment of navicular disease is described and the rationale behind its development is discussed. To date 16 horses involved in a clinical evaluation of the technique have been assessed six months after surgery. Thirteen of these horses are able to work without lameness.
Meijer MC, Rijkenhuizen AB.A 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare was admitted to the clinic with a 1-month history of lameness of the left hind leg. After clinical and radiological examinations and an bursascopy, the diagnosis navicular disease was made. The therapy consisted of stallrest, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and orthopaedic shoeing plus intrabursal injections of short-acting corticosteroids and hyaluronic acid. The therapy was repeated following recurrence of the lameness. According to the owner the horse is currently performing at its previous level.
