The Equine Cervical Spine: Comparing MRI and Contrast‐Enhanced CT Images with Anatomic Slices in the Sagittal, Dorsal and Transverse Plane

Abstract

This publication is a compilation of all Research Abstracts presented at the Ninth International Conference on Equine Exercise Physiology. Unlike previous ICEEP conferences there will not be a conference proceedings of full length manuscripts. These abstracts succinctly summarise a wide array of investigations relevant to the equine athlete, and will be useful to veterinarians and others involved in management of horses used for sport, work and competition. The abstracts encompass the topics of Applied PhysiologyIntroduction: The ability to accurately assess equine oxygen consumption (VO2) under field conditions has been limited by the need for unrestricted gas exchange.Methods: Two variations of a mask and an associated electronics control module (ECM) were designed to enable breath-by-breath measurement of airflows with two 8.0 cm diameter pneumotachometers located 7.5 cm in front of each narus and connected to differential pressure transducers mounted on the outside of the mask. The ECM was comprised of electronics for signal filtering to the flow transducers, an oxygen sensing cell, and an analog-to-digital converter all powered by a lithium-ion battery. The battery also powered a pump connected to gas sampling ports between the nares and pneumotachometers. Airflow and oxygen content of inspired and expired gases were recorded through the ECM and electronically transferred to a notebook. VO2 was determined from these recordings by an operator using a customized software analysis program. One mask encased the lower head (E). The other left the jaw free so horse could wear a bit and be ridden (R). Multiple treadmill exercise tests were undertaken by 6 horses to measure VO2max and blood gases. Each mask was worn twice and results compared to those from an open flow-through system (O) by 2-way RMANOVA (P<0.05). Utility of the system was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient of 4 independent raters.Results: Blood gases and VO2max (152.0 ± 4.0 (mean ± SEM; O), 147.7 ± 4.3 (E), 150.7 ± 3.3 (R) ml/(kg.min) were not different between masks. VO2 measures were reproducible for each mask. Agreement between the 4 raters was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.99).Conclusions: Masks capable of measuring VO2 during field exercise were developed, tested and found accurate by multiple users.Ethical Animal Research: Studies performed were approved by the Institution's Animal Care and Use Committee (protocol #3807). Sources of funding: Institutional sources. Competing interests: Washington State University has filed notice of its intent to apply for a patent for facemask used in this study.Introduction: Exertional myopathies are a common cause of exercise intolerance in the equine athlete, and Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (PSSM) is a widely described muscular disease. It is characterized by an accumulation of abnormal glycogen in myofibers due to a genetic defect in the skeletal muscle glycogen synthase (GYS1) enzyme. We hypothesized that energy production through oxidative phosphorylation (OXP...

Evaluation of the caudal cervical articular process joints by using a needle arthroscope in standing horses

“…It is unknown whether general anesthesia might be required for surgical debridement of joint pathology and/or fragment removal. Description of the normal and diseased articular process joints is currently limited to anatomic and imaging studies . In some instances, previously described normal anatomic variations were detected and described in this report (eg, synovial folds), but most of the arthroscopic abnormalities found that were thought to be pathological but not clinical were attributed to adult age or iatrogenic damage.…”

“…Degenerative changes in the caudal cervical vertebrae have been reported at postmortem examination in 50% of mature horses and are commonly implicated in cases of neck pain, lameness, or subsequent spinal cord compression and ataxia . Current diagnostic imaging modalities available to evaluate cervical articular processes include radiography, ultrasonography, scintigraphy, computed tomography (CT), and MRI . Previous publications have expressed the inadequate equipment size of MRI or CT to accommodate the caudal cervical area of adult horses and described a lack of consistent correlation among other diagnostic imaging modalities and clinical signs in pathologies such as OA or cervical stenotic myelopathy …”

Science in brief: Highlights from the biomechanics and physiotherapy abstracts at the International Conference on Equine Exercise Physiology

“…The capabilities of diagnostic imaging techniques were explored by several authors. The locations of clinically important structures, including the facet joints, spinal cord, cervical nerve roots and intervertebral discs, were identified using magnetic resonance imaging and compared with contrast‐enhanced computerised tomography (CT) imaging in one study . The CT images were able to depict all osseous borders, but magnetic resonance images were found to be superior for soft‐tissue structures.…”

Equine cervical intervertebral disc degeneration is associated with location and MRI features

“…Patient size in relation to gantry diameter has so far limited the use of MRI for examination of the lower equine cervical spine and published anatomical and pathological studies are mostly cadaver studies . Given the fast development of technology and considering the fact that CT of the cervical spine is currently feasible, MRI of the cervical spine in live horses might not be too far off.…”