Computed tomographic arthrography of the intercarpal ligaments of the equine carpus.

The research article describes a study on the use of computed tomography (CT) arthrography for visualizing and identifying injuries in the intercarpal ligaments of horses, which are a common cause of lameness in performance horses.

Study Overview

• The aim of the study was to determine whether CT arthrography could be a suitable method for visualizing and characterizing the intercarpal ligaments in horses. The ligaments are vital components in the carpus (wrist) of horses, and their injuries are a significant cause of lameness.
• The research was a prospective cadaver study, which involved studying limbs collected from eight non-lame horses immediately after euthanasia.
• 2.0 mm overlapping CT images were captured before and after the injection of an iodinated contrast medium into the antebrachiocarpal joint, middle carpal joint, and the carpal sheath of each subject’s limb.
• In three of the limbs, spin echo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences were also captured using a 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner. After which, colored resin was injected into the synovial structures, limbs were frozen, and anatomic sections were attained in three planes.

Comparison and Results

• The study compared findings from the CT arthrography to those from precontrast CT, MRI, anatomical slices, and arthroscopy.
• The research found that the medial and lateral palmar intercarpal ligaments, radiocarpal and transverse intercarpal ligaments, and the palmar carpal ligament were all visible in the CT arthrograms of all the limbs.
• Moreover, the proximal and distal entheses (points where the ligaments connect to the bone) of all these ligaments were easily identifiable.

Conclusion

• Overall, the findings suggested that CT arthrography is indeed feasible for visualizing intercarpal ligaments and might be a worthwhile supplementary imaging technique for diagnosing lameness due to suspected carpal ligament injury in horses.