CORRELATION OF RADIOGRAPHIC, NECROPSY AND HISTOLOGIC-FINDINGS IN 8 DOGS WITH ELBOW DYSPLASIA

Elbow dysplasia is osteoarthrosis/degenerative joint disease due to ab normal development of the elbow joint. The abnormal development is the result of specific inherited etiologies alone or in combination. This paper attempts to clarify the diagnosis of elbow dysplasia based on t he presence of degenerative joint disease by correlating radiographic, necropsy, and histopathologic results using elbows from 8 German Shep herd dogs. All elbows had radiographic changes consistent with osteoar throsis/degenerative joint disease which were identified best on the f lexed medial-lateral projection. Radiographically, a specific diagnosi s was made in seven elbows; ununited anconeal process (6) and osteocho ndrosis (1). At necropsy these lesions were confirmed plus 14 elbows w ere identified that had fragmented medial coronoid process (6), abnorm ally shaped medial coronoid processes or fissures in the articular car tilage of the medial coronoid process (8). Additionally, histopatholog ically there was proliferative synovitis at the radial notch of the ul na and degenerative changes on the proximal, nonarticular surface of t he anconeal process at the site of insertion of the olecranon ligament and joint capsule. Therefore, for screening the elbow joint to identi fy elbow dysplasia, the recognition of osteoarthrosis/degenerative joi nt disease on an extreme flexed mediolateral radiograph appears to be sufficient.