Summary The medical records and radiographs of all horses with a third carpal bone fracture admitted to The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital from 1979 to 1987 were reviewed. Three hundred and seventy‐one fractures were found in 313 horses; 57 per cent were Standardbreds, 41 per cent were Thoroughbreds, and only 1.6 per cent were Quarterhorses. All were young racehorses (average age = 3.1 years). Third carpal fractures occurred more frequently in the right limb (60 per cent) than the left limb (40 per cent); Thoroughbreds had a greater right‐left disparity (67.5 per cent R, 27.1 per cent L). Fractures were classified according to their size and anatomical location within the third carpal bone: incomplete fractures of the radial facet (type 1, N = 39), large proximal chip fractures of the radial facet (type 2, N = 140), small proximal chip fractures of the radial facet (type 3, N = 18), medial corner fractures (type 4, N = 13), frontal plane slab fractures of the radial facet (type 5, N = 93), large frontal plane slab fractures involving both the radial and intermediate facets (type 6, N = 35), fractures of the intermediate facet (type 7 N = 13), and sagittal slab fractures (type 8, N = 20). The incidence of each fracture type was significantly different between Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds. Type 1 and 2 fractures were more common in Standardbreds; type 5 and 6 fractures were more common in Thoroughbreds. Differences between these two breeds are related to the different gaits at which they race. The classification more accurately describes the extent of injury and the variation in fractures observed in this study than the traditional division as chips or slabs. A high quality skyline projection is important in correctly identifying these fractures; over 10 per cent of the fractures were detected only on this view.

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A duplex ultrasound system incorporating a pulsed wave Doppler ultrasound probe with conventional B-mode real-time imaging was used to evaluate portal vein blood flow in eight normal dogs. Adequate visualization of the cranial abdominal vessels was obtained from the right lateral 11th or 12th intercostal space. Doppler spectral analysis showed non-pulsatile flow with a wide range of linear flow velocities across the vessel lumen typical of laminar .blood flow. Results for portal vein blood flows were 49.8 k 13.5 ml/min/kg body weight (mean _+ SD) with a range of 37.8 -76.8 ml/min/kg body weight. These values overestimate portal blood flow by approximately 2 times when compared with published studies using invasive techniques. This overestimation is primarily due to the use of the maximal flow velocity in the blood flow calculations. Veterinary Radiology, VoZ. 30, No. 5, 1989; p p 222-226.

Canine kidney measurements were obtained in vivo using ultrasound before and after anesthesia and were compared with direct caliper measurements at laparotomy. Following excision, the kidney dimensions were also measured ultrasonically in a water bath and the results were used to calculate kidney ‐volume by a modified parallel planimetric method and three variations of a prolate ellipsoid method. The calculated volume was compared with actual kidney volume determined by volume displacement. All methods were found to underestimate actual volume so that a linear correction of ultrasonically calculated volume was required to predict actual volume. The modified parallel planimetric method and a prolate ellipsoid method using height and width determinations cranial and caudal to the renal pelvis were the best models. The prolate ellipsoid model was chosen for subsequent kidney volume calculations because of its simplicity. The noninvasive calculation of kidney volume using ultrasound was sufficiently accurate to be clinically useful, particularly when serially evaluating kidney size changes in the same dog.