CHARACTERIZATION OF ANATOMIC COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE FEMOROPATELLAR JOINT AND LATERAL AND MEDIAL FEMOROTIBIAL JOINTS IN CATTLE, USING INTRAARTICULAR LATEX, POSITIVE CONTRAST ARTHROGRAPHY, AND FLUOROSCOPY

Objective-To evaluate the frequency of communication between the later al and medial femorotibial joints and the femoropatellar joint in catt le. Design-1 of 3 injection sites was randomly assigned to each ox. An imals-102 limbs were obtained from 55 fresh bovine cadavers presented for necropsy with problems unrelated to the stifle. Procedure-The join ts were injected with a mixture of latex and barium sulfate. Communica tion between 2 or more joints was determined by the presence of latex and contrast material in a joint adjacent to the injected joint by exa mining frozen sections and positive-contrast ar thrography. Results-Co mmunication between the 3 joints was present in 58 (56.9%) limbs. The femoropatellar and the medial femorotibial joints always communicated. Thirteen of 38 (34.2%) specimens injected in the lateral femorotibial joint did not communicate with the 2 other joints. The femoropatellar joint communicated with the lateral and medial femorotibial joints on the distal abaxial aspect of the trochlear ridge. Conclusion-Individu al anatomic variation of the stifle in cattle should be considered whe n diagnostic or treatment protocols are established, Clinical Relevanc e-The lateral femorotibial joint should be treated separately because it does not consistently communicate with the femoropatellar or medial femorotibial joint.