Anatomical features of the carpal flexor retinaculum of the horse.

This study aims to elucidate the topographical anatomy of the carpal flexor retinaculum or palmar anular carpal ligament (PACL) in the horse. Ten specimen of the carpus of five healthy horses were studied by dissection in layers. Slices of 5 mm in thickness facilitated observation of the soft tissues. The superficial layer of the PACL subdivides into five compartments: one for the palmar nerve and the arterial and venous branches, one for only the radial artery, one for the radial vein, and one for the tendon of the radial carpal flexor muscle, and finally for the deep layer that supports all tendinous structures located palmar to the carpus, as well as the median artery and palmar medial nerve. The sections of the segmented PACL that are affected by carpal canal syndrome may vary with the aetiology of the space-occupying process. Precise anatomical knowledge of the structures may help in understanding the pathological processes and determining the most appropriate therapy.

Comparison of stress zones in finite element models of deformed bovine claw capsules.

Pathological claw formations occur subsequent to irregular or prolonged claw trimming periods and as a result of improper flooring. Clinical experience and material testing finds horn of minor quality to be associated with the malformations. Finite element models (FEM) of a flat claw (FC), a contracted claw (CC), and a laminitic claw (LC) were designed from native claw specimens to combine material properties and altered claw geometry for stress analysis. The FEM were created by digitizing the typically deformed exungulated claw capsule by means of computed tomography or digital photography. The derived geometry data were meshed with finite elements and the material properties were attributed. Loading was performed via vertical load vectors according to the suspensory and support apparatus of the bovine digit. All FEM were loaded on soft floors. Loading of the FEM of the FC with 756 N exhibited maximum stress values of 3.32 MPa in the dorsal wall, that of the CC exhibited comparably lower stress of 1.33 MPa in the distal abaxial wall, and the model of the LC showed maximum stress of 4.51 MPa in the region of the dorsal border, all at the same loading. The solar surfaces and the corresponding imprints showed stress concentrations in the palmar aspect of the bulb in the FC, a highly stressed bearing margin of the abaxial wall in the CC, and a diffusely stressed sole and bulb in the LC in contrast to the sound claw models. The FEM of the selected pathological claw forms (FC, CC, LC) calculated high stress zones exactly at locations in the claw wall and sole where clinical experts expect the typical claw lesions for these pathologies. These results were obtained simply by exchanging the outer form of the claw capsules; the method of loading and type of flooring for these pathological models were equivalent to those of the sound FEM. It is highly possible that the stress zones derived from these calculations represent corium compression in reality, and these data support the pathophysiological theory that claw lesions may arise as a consequence thereof.