Bone mineral density and bone mineral content of the bilateral first phalanges of the thoracic limbs in horses

Abstract

The bone mineral density (BMD) and the bone mineral content (BMC) in the bone tissue of the bilateral first phalanges of horses' thoracic limbs were analysed. The research material consisted of isolated pastern bones derived from 22 horses. The research was conducted with the use of a Norland model Excell Plus densitometer (Fort Atkinson WI, USA), using affinited beam X-ray technology and an animal research programme (Research Scan, 3.9.6. version) at the following parameters: scanning resolution of 1.5 x 1.5 mm, scanning speed 60 mm/s. The differences between BMC and BMD values in bilateral first phalanges in the thoracic limbs in horses were found to be nonsignificant. It also appeared that there are statistically significant positive correlations between values of the left and right bone of both analysed variables.