Abstract
Simple SummaryThe measurement of limb alignments is an important topic in veterinary orthopedics. These measurements enable veterinarians to assess normal limb functions, diagnose congenital or acquired disorders, and plan proper treatment protocols. Different measurement methods have been reported for fore- and hindlimb measurements in the literature, and reference ranges have been published for different breeds. These standard values can be compared with the measured values in small animal clinics, especially in the case of bilateral deformities, in which a sound extremity does not exist to provide a reference value. In this review, we aimed to compile the relevant values from the literature, sorting them according to the dog breed and the health status of the dog.The assessment of limb conformations in veterinary orthopedics is a significant tool used to determine the quantitative degree of limb malalignments. As in human medicine, various studies have been undertaken in veterinary medicine to determine the values in different dog breeds and to determine the values in healthy and diseased dogs. The objectives of this systematic review were to evaluate the reported values in these articles separately, to compile the standard values, and to compare the values between dogs with and without various orthopedic diseases. All of the articles included in this systematic review were collected by screening the Scopus, PubMed/Medline, and Web of Science databases. The articles were evaluated according to the measured alignments, imaging methods, dog breeds, and the health status of the dogs. Each alignment was investigated separately, and the results are summarized. Twenty-nine studies were included in this systematic review. According to the studies, in the frontal plane, distal femoral alignments, as well as proximal and distal tibial alignments, corresponded to the severity of the medial patellar luxation. The difference between affected and non-affected dogs with cranial cruciate ligament disease was limited to the proximal tibial alignments in the sagittal plane.
Highlights
The evaluation of fore- and hindlimb conformations and clinical goniometry have long been important topics in veterinary orthopedics
Normal limb alignments may vary in different dog breeds or between large and small breeds; the determination of reference ranges for different dog breeds is important
The results reported by Kara et al 2018 [26], on normal femoral specimens showed an inverse correlation between Angle of Anteversion (AA) and Anatomical Caudal Distal Femoral Angle (aCdDFA); no significant difference between male and female dogs was reported for aCdDFA in that study
Summary
The evaluation of fore- and hindlimb conformations and clinical goniometry have long been important topics in veterinary orthopedics. Angular deformity of the femur in the frontal plane (varus/valgus) can be diagnosed based on joint reference angles, including the anatomical and mechanical proximal or distal femoral angles. Pes varus and valgus describe skeletal deformities, characterized by a medial and lateral deviation of the bone axis of the distal tibia in the frontal plane, respectively [7,8,9]. The etiology of this skeletal deformity is an asymmetric growth of the distal tibial physis because of traumatic, nutritional, or developmental premature closure of the physis [4,5,8]
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