The Equine Distal Limb: An Atlas of Clinical Anatomy and Comparative Imaging PDF

Preface

In the last ten years, the constant development of imaging modalities has reinforced the need for a better knowledge of anatomy. Diagnostic imaging is now a major part of the clinical examination of lame horses and will be even more important in the future.

Many of the classic books and manuals on the subject provide an anatomical basis for the understanding of the general constitution of the horse's locomotor apparatus and are very useful for a comprehensive, overall knowledge of the anatomy of the equine limbs. But with the growing importance of diagnostic techniques, there is a need for reference anatomical documents providing immediate support for the interpretation of diagnostic images.

The purpose of this book is to feature a direct source of information based on real, fresh anatomical specimens very close to live anatomy. It provides reference images of the foot, pastern and fetlock – the most commonly involved areas in equine locomotor problems. The reference images include dissections, segmental anatomic sections and diagnostic images (radiographs and ultrasound scans as well as magnetic resonance imaging scans). Following the general approach of morphological sciences, based on relationships of anatomical structures and a direct analogy between images, no text is provided, but there is precise and complete labelling for each specimen or cross-section.

The anatomical specimens presented in this book were prepared using various techniques of fine dissection performed on fresh limbs, as well as on limbs injected with coloured latex into the vessels and/or synovial cavities of joints or tendon sheaths. The anatomical cross-sections were made at regular intervals in the three complementary planes of the space, after injection of coloured latex into the vessels and/or synovial cavities. Since the specimens were prepared, and the latex injected, over a considerable period of time, the colour of the latex may differ between specimens.

The clinical importance of each anatomical section is illustrated by correlated diagnostic imaging documents: plain or contrast radiographic studies, ultrasound scans of sound live horses and magnetic resonance imaging scans performed on sound isolated limbs.

The anatomical terms used in this book are close to those recommended in the Fourth Edition of the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria (1994) and the illustrated Veterinary Anatomical Nomenclature (Schaller, 1992), but they also take into account usage among English-speaking anatomists and clinicians, which can be found in conventional books. At the end of the book there is an alphabetical index in English, with Latin equivalents for readers in non-English speaking countries.

The objective of this atlas is to provide the clinician with the anatomical basis required for the main steps in the clinical examination of locomotor problems in horses, including:

• Interpretation of local deformity (inspection), based on the topography of subcutaneous structures.
• Regional analgesia (nerve blocks) and intrasynovial analgesia (joint or tendon sheaths blocks), based on precise anatomical landmarks.
• Interpretation of diagnostic analgesia, using nerve and synovial relationships.
• Preparation and interpretation of soft tissue images, especially ultrasound scans.
• Anatomical landmarks for orthopaedic surgery and local injection or treatment.

My priority has been to produce a book that is informative and easy to use; I hope it will be useful in resolving the diagnosis of a large variety of clinical conditions involving the equine distal limb and for the teaching of locomotor diseases in the horse.