NEW APPROACH TO PERCUTANEOUS MUSCLE BIOPSY IN DOGS

The size and quality of muscle specimens obtained by use of a percutan eous biopsy technique were studied. All biopsies were performed under local anesthesia, using an Ii-gauge biopsy needle. The mean +/- SEM si ze of specimens obtained from 128 biopsies of the semitendinosus muscl es of 16 Alaskan Huskies was 23.8 +/- 4.4 mg. All biopsy specimens wer e of sufficient quality to permit histochemical differentiation of the fiber types by use of myosin ATPase staining. An additional 8 biopsy specimens were obtained from 1 dog and analyzed for muscle glycogen co ntent. These specimens contained 50.6 +/- 7.2 mmol of glucose/kg of mu scle wet weight. This modified biopsy procedure was free of notable co mplications, and repeatable use produced specimens of adequate size an d quality for histologic and biochemical analysis. It is concluded tha t this procedure is a safe and reliable alternative to open biopsy for diagnosis and management of neuromuscular, metabolic, and nutritional myopathies.