Lumbosacral Transitional Vertebrae, Canine Hip Dysplasia, and Sacroiliac Joint Degenerative Changes on Ventrodorsal Radiographs of the Pelvis in Police Working German Shepherd Dogs

CT and gross pathology are comparable methods for detecting some degenerative sacroiliac joint lesions in dogs

“…Degenerative sacroiliac joint disease is one of the causes of lumbosacral region pain in dogs . Risk factors may include skeletal malformations, trauma, or repetitive task‐related injuries.…”

“…Degenerative sacroiliac joint disease is one of the causes of lumbosacral region pain in dogs. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Risk factors may include skeletal malformations, trauma, or repetitive task-related injuries. Current standard diagnostic tests for this disease in dogs include history, clinical evidence of pain on palpation of the sacroiliac joint, kinematic tests, radiography, and postmortem examination.…”

“…session into a spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel for Mac 2011, version 14.0.0, Redmond, WA, MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7, AppleInc., Cupertino, CA). Values for each of the following variables were entered: dog number(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15), method (CT, gross pathology), reading session(1)(2)(3)(4), sacroiliac joint side (right, left), and presence/absence for each lesion type in that joint (present = 1, absent = 0). Any additional reader comments were also entered into the spreadsheet.Frequency and percentage values for each lesion and each method F I G U R E 3 Transverse, bone window CT image (A) and gross pathology slice photograph (B) illustrating subchondral sclerosis lesion detection by both methods.…”

Relationship between transitional lumbosacral vertebrae and eight lumbar vertebrae in a breeding colony of Labrador Retrievers and Labrador Crosses

“…Transitional lumbosacral vertebrae (TLSV) have been observed in several dog breeds and the condition is considered to be a congenital abnormality of the spine. 6 Heritability estimates have been performed in the German Shepherd Dog, with Wigger et al giving a heritability estimate of 0.2-0.3 for transitional vertebrae 8 and Ondreka et al giving an estimate of 0.5. 4 TLSV can predispose dogs with the phenotype to cauda equina syndrome 2,5,7 and unilateral hip dysplasia.…”

“…4,6 An eighth lumbar vertebra (8LV) has not been regarded as associated with TLSV, but considered to be a variant of normal development that is rarely clinically significant. 4,6 An eighth lumbar vertebra (8LV) has not been regarded as associated with TLSV, but considered to be a variant of normal development that is rarely clinically significant.…”