Early lesions of articular osteochondrosis in the distal femur of foals.
Abstract: Failure of the cartilage canal blood supply to epiphyseal growth cartilage has been implicated in the pathogenesis of articular osteochondrosis in horses and other animal species. In a previous study of the developmental pattern of the blood supply in the tarsus of foals, early lesions of osteochondrosis were consistently found in regions where the cartilage canal vessels traversed the chondro-osseous junction. The developmental pattern of blood vessels has also been described in the distal femoral epiphysis; however, the group of foals examined in that study did not have lesions of osteochondrosis in this location. Therefore, the relationship between the occurrence of early lesions of osteochondrosis and the developmental pattern of the blood supply to epiphyseal growth cartilage in this site in foals has not been examined. Distal femora were collected from 30 fetuses and foals (up to 11 months old) submitted for postmortem examination. Sections from the lateral trochlear ridge and medial femoral condyle of both hind limbs were examined histologically. Sixteen cartilage lesions were found in 7 of the 30 fetuses and foals. All lesions contained evidence of cartilage canal necrosis and ischemic chondronecrosis. The lesions were located in regions where cartilage canal vessels traversed the chondro-osseous junction, as previously observed in the tarsus. The location and morphology of lesions indicated that a subclinical stage of ischemic chondronecrosis existed that preceded and predisposed to the development of osteochondrosis dissecans and subchondral bone cysts.
Publication Date: 2011-02-14 PubMed ID: 21321104DOI: 10.1177/0300985811398250Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Case Reports
- Journal Article
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- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research is focused on examining the cause and early development of a joint disease, osteochondrosis, in young horses (foals). It evaluates how a failure in blood supply to certain growth areas in the limb bones, specifically the distal femur, may lead to this disease.
Background and Aim
- The study looks at the pathogenesis of osteochondrosis, a joint disease affecting horses and other animals, which is suspected to result from a disrupted blood supply to the epiphyseal growth cartilage.
- A previous study had observed onset of early symptoms of the disease in areas where blood vessels traversed chondro-osseous junctions in the tarsus (ankle joint) of foals.
- While a similar developmental pattern of blood vessels had been observed in the distal femoral epiphysis (lower thigh bone), the relationship between blood supply and the onset of the disease was not investigated in this area. Therefore, this study aimed to explore this link.
Methodology
- Distal femora were collected from 30 fetuses and foals submitted for postmortem examination, ranging up to 11 months old.
- Sections from the lateral trochlear ridge and the medial femoral condyle were studied histologically, or under a microscope.
Results
- Out of the 30 samples, 16 cartilage lesions were found in 7 fetuses/foals, all showing signs of cartilage canal necrosis (death of cells) and ischemic chondronecrosis (damage due to lack of blood flow).
- The lesions were found in areas where cartilage canal vessels went through the chondro-osseous junction, echoing the findings from the tarsus.
- The location and structure of lesions indicated a subclinical stage of ischemic chondronecrosis, which was a precursor and risk factor for the development of osteochondrosis dissecans (a more severe joint condition) and subchondral bone cysts.
Conclusion
- The research suggests a correlation between disrupted blood supply and the onset of osteochondrosis in foals, adding valuable knowledge to the understanding of this debilitating joint disease and its early stages.
Cite This Article
APA
Olstad K, Ytrehus B, Ekman S, Carlson CS, Dolvik NI.
(2011).
Early lesions of articular osteochondrosis in the distal femur of foals.
Vet Pathol, 48(6), 1165-1175.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0300985811398250 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Department of Companion Animal Clinical Sciences, Equine Section, Oslo, Norway. kristin.olstad@nvh.no
MeSH Terms
- Aborted Fetus / pathology
- Animals
- Cartilage, Articular / blood supply
- Cartilage, Articular / embryology
- Cartilage, Articular / pathology
- Epiphyses / embryology
- Epiphyses / pathology
- Female
- Femur / blood supply
- Femur / embryology
- Femur / pathology
- Horse Diseases / embryology
- Horse Diseases / pathology
- Horses
- Male
- Osteochondrosis / embryology
- Osteochondrosis / pathology
- Osteochondrosis / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 20 times.- Grissom SK, Semevolos SA, Duesterdieck-Zellmer K. Role of cartilage and bone matrix regulation in early equine osteochondrosis. Bone Rep 2023 Jun;18:101653.
- Lemirre T, Santschi E, Girard C, Fogarty U, Chapuis L, Richard H, Beauchamp G, Laverty S. Maturation of the equine medial femoral condyle osteochondral unit. Osteoarthr Cartil Open 2020 Mar;2(1):100029.
- Brittberg M. Knee osteochondritis dissecans-treatment technical aspects. J Orthop 2022 Nov-Dec;34:104-110.
- Armstrong AR, Zbýň Š, Kajabi AW, Metzger GJ, Ellermann JM, Carlson CS, Tóth F. Naturally occurring osteochondrosis latens lesions identified by quantitative and morphological 10.5 T MRI in pigs. J Orthop Res 2023 Mar;41(3):663-673.
- Tóth F, Johnson CP, Mills B, Nissi MJ, Nykänen O, Ellermann J, Ludwig KD, Tompkins M, Carlson CS. Evaluation of the Suitability of Miniature Pigs as an Animal Model of Juvenile Osteochondritis Dissecans. J Orthop Res 2019 Oct;37(10):2130-2137.
- Tóth F, Tompkins MA, Shea KG, Ellermann JM, Carlson CS. Identification of Areas of Epiphyseal Cartilage Necrosis at Predilection Sites of Juvenile Osteochondritis Dissecans in Pediatric Cadavers. J Bone Joint Surg Am 2018 Dec 19;100(24):2132-2139.
- Hendrickson EHS, Lykkjen S, Dolvik NI, Olstad K. Prevalence of osteochondral lesions in the fetlock and hock joints of Standardbred horses that survived bacterial infection before 6 months of age. BMC Vet Res 2018 Dec 10;14(1):390.
- Semevolos SA, Duesterdieck-Zellmer KF, Larson M, Kinsley MA. Expression of pro-apoptotic markers is increased along the osteochondral junction in naturally occurring osteochondrosis. Bone Rep 2018 Dec;9:19-26.
- Bertholle CP, Meijer E, Back W, Stegeman A, van Weeren PR, van Nes A. A longitudinal study on the performance of in vivo methods to determine the osteochondrotic status of young pigs. BMC Vet Res 2016 Mar 24;12:62.
- McCoy AM, Beeson SK, Splan RK, Lykkjen S, Ralston SL, Mickelson JR, McCue ME. Identification and validation of risk loci for osteochondrosis in standardbreds. BMC Genomics 2016 Jan 12;17:41.
- Power J, Hernandez P, Wardale J, Henson FM. Alterations in sclerostin protein in lesions of equine osteochondrosis. Vet Rec Open 2014;1(1):e000005.
- Tóth F, Nissi MJ, Ellermann JM, Wang L, Shea KG, Polousky J, Carlson CS. Novel Application of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Demonstrates Characteristic Differences in Vasculature at Predilection Sites of Osteochondritis Dissecans. Am J Sports Med 2015 Oct;43(10):2522-7.
- Olstad K, Hendrickson EH, Ekman S, Carlson CS, Dolvik NI. Local Morphological Response of the Distal Femoral Articular-Epiphyseal Cartilage Complex of Young Foals to Surgical Stab Incision and Potential Relevance to Cartilage Injury and Repair in Children. Cartilage 2013 Jul;4(3):239-48.
- Tóth F, Nissi MJ, Wang L, Ellermann JM, Carlson CS. Surgical induction, histological evaluation, and MRI identification of cartilage necrosis in the distal femur in goats to model early lesions of osteochondrosis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2015 Feb;23(2):300-7.
- Desjardin C, Vaiman A, Mata X, Legendre R, Laubier J, Kennedy SP, Laloe D, Barrey E, Jacques C, Cribiu EP, Schibler L. Next-generation sequencing identifies equine cartilage and subchondral bone miRNAs and suggests their involvement in osteochondrosis physiopathology. BMC Genomics 2014 Sep 17;15(1):798.
- McCoy AM, Toth F, Dolvik NI, Ekman S, Ellermann J, Olstad K, Ytrehus B, Carlson CS. Articular osteochondrosis: a comparison of naturally-occurring human and animal disease. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2013 Nov;21(11):1638-47.
- Baccarin RY, Pereira MA, Roncati NV, Bergamaschi RR, Hagen SC. Development of osteochondrosis in Lusitano foals: a radiographic study. Can Vet J 2012 Oct;53(10):1079-84.
- Olstad K. Science-in-brief: Recent advances in failure of the blood supply to growth cartilage, osteochondrosis and developmental orthopaedic disease. Equine Vet J 2025 Sep;57(5):1161-1166.
- Hoey S, Fogarty U, McAllister H, Puggioni A, Cloak B, Richard H, Skelly C, Laverty S. Ultrasonographic assessment of equine metacarpal cartilage thickness is more accurate than computed tomographic arthrography. Vet Radiol Ultrasound 2025 Jan;66(1):e13444.
- Tóth F, Nissi MJ, Armstrong AR, Buko EO, Johnson CP. Epiphyseal cartilage vascular architecture at the distal humeral osteochondritis dissecans predilection site in juvenile pigs. J Orthop Res 2024 Apr;42(4):737-744.
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