Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the shoulder joint of dogs with healthy and damaged shoulders as opposed to radiological examination.

摘要

The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic value of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to the radiological examination of the Articulatio humerii in dogs with healthy and damaged shoulders. First, a study of the shoulder joint structure was performed in 25 dogs. When the clinical and radiographical examination showed that the dogs had healthy shoulders, magnetic resonance images were made. Furthermore, frozen sections were obtained from the shoulder joint regions of 2 dogs. These MRI pictures and the frozen sections formed the analytical basis for the interpretation of the MRI and X-ray pictures of the patients. 23 patients (dogs) suffering from shoulder joint lameness were examined with radiographical and MRI techniques. 17 of these patients also underwent arthroscopic investigation of the shoulder joint. Results revealed that when using MRI, the rate of detection of OCD, tumours, mineralization of supraspinatus tendon and biceps brachii tendosynovitis were 100, 100, 50 and 100%, respectively. In 15% of the cases, the anatomical variations were overinterpreted. On the other hand, when using radiography, 88.9 and 100% of the OCDs and mineralization of the supraspinatus tendon were observed, respectively. The detection rate for tumours and tendon sheath inflammation were 50 and 75%, respectively. When comparing X-ray and MRI, it is clear that each procedure has its specific diagnostic emphasis. Alterations in bone structure can be seen more clearly and accurately in X-rays while, MRI provides the information of the neighbouring soft tissues. MRI is an especially useful supplement to X-ray pictures for the diagnosis of tendon illnesses and other soft tissue alterations. Radiological examination should, however, always be the first step when undertaking image producing examinations.