title: Evaluation of osteochondral sample collection guided by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for early detection of osteoarthritis in centrodistal joints of young Icelandic horses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the use of CT and MRI for guidance of osteochondral sample collection for histologic detection of early osteoarthritic lesions in centrodistal (distal intertarsal) joints of horses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Right tarsal joints from the cadavers of 24 Icelandic horses aged 29 to 31 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  CT and MRI were used to evaluate the extent of suspected osteoarthritic changes in centrodistal joints, which were graded with a semiquantitative system. The anatomic regions with the highest grade of change were identified, and osteochondral samples were obtained from these regions. Samples were also obtained from the same centrodistal joints at predetermined sites. Histologic examination of all samples was performed, with samples classified as negative or positive for osteoarthritis, and results were compared between sample collection methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Histologic examination revealed osteoarthritic lesions in 29% (7/24) of centrodistal joints with the predetermined method and in 63% (15/24) with the image-guided method. Significant associations were identified between histologic osteoarthritis detection and the summed image-guided sample collection site image grades, central osteophytes, articular cartilage thickness abnormalities, grade 2 articular mineralization front defects, and grade 2 marginal osteophytes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CT and MRI aided the detection of focal changes suggestive of early-stage osteoarthritis in the centrodistal joints of equine cadavers and may be useful for detection of similar disease in live horses. The first morphological changes of centrodistal joint osteoarthritis were suspected to be in the articular cartilage and the articular mineralization front regions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, SE-750 07, Sweden. charles.ley@slu.se
authors.forename: Charles J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Ley
authors.forename: Stina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ekman
authors.forename: Leif E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Dahlberg
authors.forename: Sigríður
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Björnsdóttir
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hansson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002356:Cartilage / Q000473:pathology*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006736:Horses; D007596:Joints / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000662:veterinary*; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000662:veterinary*