Abstract
Objective—To determine those bones in the distal aspect of the limbs of Greyhounds with fatigue fractures that have the greatest left-to-right differences in bone-mineral density (BMD).
Sample Population—Limbs obtained from 20 Greyhounds.
Procedure—Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of the distal aspect of each limb and isolated bones from 10 dogs with a fracture of the central tarsal bone (CTB) of the right pelvic limb was performed. Highresolution scanning was performed on excised bones, and BMD measurements of CTB also were obtained from limbs of dogs without a CTB fracture.
Results—The BMD of the accessory carpal bone and calcaneus was not significantly different from the BMD of those bones in the contralateral limb. Although BMD of the CTB of the entire right pelvic limb and isolated bones from dogs with a CTB fracture was lower, compared with values for the entire left pelvic limb, values for isolated CTB from dogs without a CTB fracture were not significantly different. Metacarpal or metatarsal and thoracic or pelvic limb significantly affected BMD for measurements of the entire limb and isolated bones. Left-to-right differences in BMD were greatest for metacarpal 5.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Asymmetric adaptive remodeling of metacarpal 5 can be detected by DXA. The potentially confounding effects of CTB fracture and unknown racing history made it difficult to interpret BMD changes in the CTB of these specimens. Densitometry could be developed as an in vivo assessment for risk of fractures in racing Greyhounds. (Am J Vet Res 2000;61:1214–1219)
