Ultrasonographic changes associated with the healing process in a fracture of the distal phalanx in a cow.

A female Holstein cow presented with lameness in the left hind-limb, having suffered a fracture within the distal phalanx distal to the distal interphalangeal joint. The lesion was visualized as a radiolucent gap on a lateral radiograph and a hypoechoic gap on an ultrasonogram in which the hyperechoic bony line disappeared. Using regular ultrasonographic examinations, the healing of the fracture could be characterized by increased echogenicity inside the gap and the formation of a hyperechoic bony bridge. Ultrasonography can provide earlier evidence compared with that provided by radiography of the healing process of a fractured distal phalanx.