Early diagnosis of joint disease, especially degenerative joint disease, represents a great challenge to equine practitioners around the world. It was suggested that the presence of cartilage fragments in the synovial fluid could provide an indication of biomechanically deficient articular surfaces. The main objective of this study was to compare the presence of clinical signs of the joint disease with the presence, number, size and amount of cartilage fragments found in synovial fluid. One hundred and sixteen synovial fluid samples from sixty-seven horses were analysed for presence, number and size of cartilage wear particles. The material was centrifugated and prepared for microscopic examination. The animals presented different joint affections and were divided into six groups according to the presence of clinical signs, radiographic and arthroscopic alterations. There was a significant correlation between cartilage debris and lesions of the articular surfaces in horses with osteoarthritis and osteochondritis dissecans. Acute cases, such as septic arthritis, showed no significant number of cartilage fragments. This is a simple, minimal invasive method that could allow a better assessment of the degenerative joint disease. It also has great potential to provide a good assessment of the progress of osteoarthritis, long-term prognosis and the evaluation of therapeutic regimes without repeated surgical intervention.
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