Summary
Elbow dysplasia refers to malformations of the elbow joint, which predominantly occurs in young dogs of large breeds. Labradors are especially affected with fragmented coronoid process and osteochondritis dissecans of the elbow joint that often leads to secondary osteoarthrosis (OA). Mues (16) developed an angle measurement method, presuming that these measurements describe functional aspects of the elbow joints, suitable to characterize the risk of developing OA. The aim of the present studies was to examine whether the morphology of the elbow joint, or the size of the osteophytes in the elbow, is reflected by the measurements. From this study it can be concluded that, in 163 Labradors, the size of the osteophytes, rather then the morphology of the elbow joint, determines the outcome of the angle measurements and thus does not replace the OA-grading system as has been defined by the International Elbow Working Group that is widely in use.
Keywords
Elbow dysplasia - radiography - dogs
