title: Scintigraphic identification of skeletal muscle damage in horses 24 hours after strenuous exercise.
abstract: The uptake of the bone-seeking radiopharmaceutical 99mTc-MDP by damaged skeletal muscle in horses is evaluated. Twenty-four hours following strenuous exercise, 109 racehorses with a history of inadequate athletic performance and subtle lameness were imaged using scintigraphic techniques. Ten horses (9.2 per cent) demonstrated abnormal uptake of the radioisotope within skeletal muscles. A muscle biopsy from one of these horses confirmed that the muscles with increased scintigraphic activity had histologic evidence of rhabdomyolysis. This technique allows localisation and relative quantification of muscle damage and is a valuable aid in the evaluation of the athletic horse.
authors.affiliation: Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, N. Grafton, Massachusetts 01536.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Seeherman
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: O'Callaghan
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Schelling
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Paradis
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Steckel
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy / Q000662:veterinary; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses / Q000293:injuries*; D007794:Lameness, Animal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology; D005082:Physical Exertion; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012206:Rhabdomyolysis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D003402:Creatine Kinase