The existence of intertransverse joints in young warmblood foals.

This article outlines scientific research aiming to confirm the presence of intertransverse joints (ITJs) in young warmblood foals, using various types of examination, including CT and MRI. The study found ITJs existed in all the foals examined, regardless of age, and developed similarly to other synovial joints. This understanding is clinically important to ensure ITJs are not mistakenly identified as pathological conditions in young foals examined with advanced imaging techniques.

Study Design and Methods

• The study was conducted upon eleven warmblood foals that were less than 200 days old. The age of the foals ranged from one day to 200 days, with eleven days as the median age.
• Postmortem examination of the lumbar area was undertaken to verify the existence of ITJs. This examination included CT, MRI scans, dissection, and histomorphology, a method of understanding tissues through microscope examinations.
• Data was then analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Research Findings

• Of the eleven foals, ten had 6 lumbar, or spinal, vertebrae, and one foal had 5. In all eleven foals, ITJs were found between the first sacral (hip) and last lumbar (spinal) vertebrae, and also between the last and second-to-last lumbar vertebrae.
• In six foals, all of them having 6 lumbar vertebrae, ITJs were also present between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebra. One other foal, also with 6 spinal vertebrae, had a unilateral (on one side only), right ITJ between the transverse processes of the third and fourth spinal vertebra.
• Based on the CT scan, the younger foals (less than 1 month old) appeared to have wider ITJs due to the incomplete ossification, or formation, of the transverse processes (wing-like protrusions of the vertebrae).
• ITJs were confirmed and further characterized using MRI, dissection, and histomorphology.

Conclusions

• The study found that intertransverse joints exist in very young warmblood foals and were present at their birth.
• In the first few months of life, these juvenile ITJs develop similarly to other synovial joints, with increasing ossification and a concomitant decrease of thickness of the cartilage layer.
• The study underpins the importance of recognizing the presence of these ITJs in young foals, especially when they are presented for presumed arthropathy (joint disease) and examined with advanced imaging techniques. It is critical to understand that these ITJs are not pathological but a normal part of foal anatomy.