Sonography of the Musculoskeletal System in Dogs and Cats

Abstract

Sonography of the musculoskeletal system in dogs and cats was undertaken to evaluate the application of this imaging procedure in orthopedics. In most of the patients a 7.5 MHz linear transducer was used because of its flat application surface and its resolving power. The evaluation of bone by sonography is limited, but sonography can provide addition information regarding the bone surface and surrounding soft tissue. Ultrasound is valuable for assessing joint disease. Joint effusion, thickening of the joint capsule and cartilage defects can be identified sonographically. It is also possible to detect bone destruction. Instabilities are often identified with the help of a dynamic examination. Soft tissue abnormalities of the musculoskeletal system lend themselves to sonographic evaluation. Partial or complete muscles or tendon tears are able to be differentiated and the healing process can be monitored. Most of the diseases that are in the area of the biceps or the achilles tendon, such as dislocation of the tendon, old injuries with scarification, free dissecates in the tendonsheath, tendinitis and/or tendosynovitis can be differentiated by sonography. In addition, with clinical and laboratory findings, it is often possible to make a correct diagnosis with ultrasound in patients with abscesses, foreign bodies, hematomas, soft tissue tumors and lipomas.

The role of B-mode ultrasonography in the musculoskeletal anatomical evaluation of the cervical region of the dog spine

“…This is because the ultrasound examination provided greater detailing of the musculature of the cervical segment of the spine of dogs, allowing the visualization of the muscle fibers (Kramer et al 1997).…”

“…Moreover, with ultrasonography it is possible to perform assessment of the structures in movement, by which one can obtain additional information (Berg et al 2003). The ultrasound examination has potential value regarding the muscular and skeletal systems in small animals (Kramer et al 1997), and the biggest challenge is the identification of an appropriate acoustic window. The manipulation of the articulation during the scanning process can help the examiner to identify the appropriate acoustic windows, providing information of the joint dynamics (Samii & Long 2005).…”

Tendinose do supra-espinhoso em cães

“…Embora estudos prévios tenham indicado ser a ultrassonografia relativamente insensível (RIVERS; WALLACE; JOHNSTON, 1992), com o advento de transdutores de melhor resolução, a técnica provou proporcionar muitas informações em investigações de injúrias de tecidos moles do ombro. A ultrassonografia músculo-esquelética é amplamente utilizada em seres humanos, particularmente em avaliações do ombro, e tem mostrado crescente valor na rotina de pequenos animais (STILES; OTTE, 1993;TYSON, 1995;KRAMER et al, 1997KRAMER et al, , 2001LONG;NYLAND, 1999;BRUCE et al, 2000;TEEFEY et al, 2000;IANNOTTI et al, 2005).…”

“…A avaliação tendínea por ultrassonografia permite a diferenciação da lesão em ruptura parcial ou total, presença de tecido cicatricial, abscesso, metaplasia, neoplasia, inflamação e calcificação (GERWING; KRAMER, 1994;KRAMER et al, 1997KRAMER et al, , 2001LAITINEN;FLO, 2000;(DINNES et al, 2003).…”

Ultrasound monitoring of shortwave diathermic treatment of gastrocnemius strain in a dog

“…On the US image, fascia rupture appears as a protrusion of the muscle from the fascia. In case of fascia rupture, a hematoma is rarely detectable, and if a hematoma is present it is usually very small [3].…”