title: Radiographic vertebral canal and vertebral body ratios in Doberman Pinschers with and without clinical signs of caudal cervical spondylomyelopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine radiographic vertebral ratio values representing vertebral canal stenosis in Doberman Pinschers with and without clinical signs of caudal cervical spondylomyelopathy (CCSM).
  
  
  METHODS
  Doberman Pinschers with (n = 81) and without (39) signs of CCSM.
  
  
  METHODS
  All dogs underwent lateral survey radiography of the cervical vertebral column. Five specific measurements were made at C3 through C7, and from those data, 3 ratios were calculated and analyzed for use in diagnosis of CSSM: canal height-to-vertebral body height ratio (CBHR), canal height-to-vertebral body length ratio (CBLR), and caudal vertebral canal height-to-cranial vertebral canal height ratio (CCHR). The CBHR and CBLR were considered indicators of vertebral canal stenosis, and CCHR described vertebral canal shape.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with Doberman Pinschers without CCSM, mean CBHR and CBLR values were significantly smaller for Doberman Pinschers with CCSM; for CBHR, this difference was evident at each assessed vertebra. The CCHR value for C7 was significantly larger in dogs with CCSM. Receiver operating characteristic statistics did not identify a threshold point that had combined high sensitivity and specificity sufficient to differentiate between Doberman Pinschers with and without CCSM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Doberman Pinschers with CCSM had vertebral canal stenosis combined with a funnel-shaped vertebral canal at C7 significantly more often than did Doberman Pinschers without CCSM. Despite these significant differences, no reliable threshold ratio values were identified to differentiate groups of dogs.
authors: Department of Small Animal Medicine and Clinical Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. sdedecker@rvc.ac.uk
authors: Steven
authors: S
authors: De Decker
authors: Jimmy H
authors: JH
authors: Saunders
authors: Luc
authors: L
authors: Duchateau
authors: Pascaline
authors: P
authors: Pey
authors: Luc M L
authors: LM
authors: Van Ham
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001530:Belgium; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D010375:Pedigree; D011859:Radiography; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013115:Spinal Canal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*