ANATOMIC AND ULTRASONOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE EQUINE CARPUS

Abstract

The equine carpal joint is relevant in clinical and surgical veterinary practices, with the use of ultrasound being very helpful as a complementary exam to diagnose some diseases that involves the principal structures of this articulation. Due to the lack in studies that illustrate the morphological aspect of this region in health horses and for it complexity, it is this study goal to present a meticulous description of the compared ultrasonographic anatomy of the equine carpal joint. For this study, anatomical pieces from equine thoracic limbs were used, being two already dissecated and fixated in formol and four pieces presented in transversal cuts, in order to prioritize the evaluation of the most important structures for clinical practice in the dorsal, medial, lateral and palmar aspects of the equine carpal joint. With the use of ultrasonographic exam in two health horses belonging to the College of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, FMVZ/Unesp – Botucatu/SP, longitudinal and transverse images of the respective dissected structures in the anatomical study were generated, wich were evaluated for ecotexture, echogenicity and thickness. From both studies, a correlation was made between the macroscopic structures from the anatomical pieces and the ultrasonographic representations, leading to the development of teaching images and musculoskeletical structures description of the carpal joint, generated in order to help on it’s study.