Equine podotrochlear apparatus - histologic characterization

ABSTRACT

Background: The navicular syndrome may be associated with alterations in other podotrochlear apparatus components,such as the deep digital flexor tendon, collareral sesamoid and distal sesamoid ligaments, podotrochlear bursa and distalsesamoid bone. However, the clinical significance and nature of these changes are not well understood, many of descriptive reports about distal sesamoid bone lesions are rarely accompanied by a complete and comprehensive comparisonwith animals of the control group. The aim of this study was to described histologically findings of the podrotrochlearapparatus components, allowing the understanding of the inserts and their microscopic appearance, thus providing thefuture recognize of their alterations.Materials, Methods & Results: Fourteen samples of the podotrochlear apparatus were taken out of 44 equine thoracic limbsspecimens, separated at the radiocarpal joint of Crioulo and Thoroughbred horses, with an average age of 6.0-year-old,coming from a private clinic in southern Brazil. The thoracic limbs specimens were refrigerated at 4ºC at the clinic and thenthey were sent to the University Federal of Santa Maria (UFSM). Once at the University laboratory, the specimens weredissected to isolate the podotrochlear apparatus from each one. Subsequently, transversal and longitudinal samples fromthe distal sesamoid bone, deep digital flexor tendo, distal sesamoid ligament, colateral sesamoid ligament, were collectedand podotrochlear bursa which were processed at the Veterinary Pathology Laboratory of the UFSM and University Federalof Santa Catarina (UFSC). The tissues samples were fixed in a 10% formaldehyde solution for 14 days and routinely processed for histology. The samples were sectioned at 3 µm and stained using the hematoxylin-eosin (H-E) routine method.The bone samples, after fixation, underwent a decalcified process in a formic acid-sodium citrate aqueous...