title: Anatomical and ultrasonographic study of the femoral nerve within the iliopsoas muscle in beagle dogs and cats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  An ultrasound (US)-guided ventral suprainguinal approach to block the femoral nerve (FN) within the iliopsoas muscle (IPM) has recently been described in dogs. The goal of the present study was to provide the operator with additional information to locate the FN within the IPM in dogs and cats using US.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was carried out in three phases: a dissection of the FN (phase 1); an in vivo US-assisted nerve study (phase 2), and an anatomical cross-sectional study (phase 3).
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine healthy adult beagle dogs and nine healthy adult cats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dissections were performed to investigate the anatomical characteristics of the FN and its related structures in one dog and one cat. Ultrasound scans of the left and right FN were performed in eight dogs and eight cats. The FN diameter and the distance between the FN and the external iliac artery (EIA) in US images and in anatomical cryosections were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median FN diameter did not differ significantly between cats and dogs (1.1 mm versus 1.0 mm) or between the two techniques (US versus anatomical cross-sectional study) (1.1 mm versus 1.1 mm in dogs; 1.0 mm versus 1.1 mm in cats). The US and anatomical measurements of the median distances between the FN and EIA differed significantly between dogs and cats (8.2 mm versus 5.8 mm by US; 5.7 mm versus 4.8 mm in the anatomical study).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The distance between the EIA and FN is reproducible in beagle dogs and cats and can be used in locating the FN within the IPM.
authors.affiliation: Anatomy, Imagery and Embryology Unit, Institut National Polytechnique (INP), école Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France.|Cerebral Imaging and Neurological Disorders Unit, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), UMR 825, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mogicato
authors.affiliation: Medical Imaging Unit, INP, ENVT, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Layssol-Lamour
authors.affiliation: Pans' Bêtes Veterinary Clinic, Acigné, France.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahler
authors.affiliation: Anatomy, Imagery and Embryology Unit, Institut National Polytechnique (INP), école Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Maxime
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Charrouin
authors.affiliation: Anaesthesia and Critical Care Unit, INP, ENVT, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boyer
authors.affiliation: Anaesthesia and Critical Care Unit, INP, ENVT, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Verwaerde
authors.affiliation: Anaesthesia and Critical Care Unit, INP, ENVT, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Géraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jourdan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004285:Dogs / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005267:Femoral Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation*; D009407:Nerve Block / Q000662:veterinary; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: cats; dogs; femoral nerve; ultrasonography