Veterinary diagnostics: how to use MRI to manage hock,suspensory ligament injuries in horses.

Veterinary diagnostics comes in handy when presented with an injured horse. MRI is magnetic resonance imaging and it aids diagnosis of cases of injured hock and suspensory ligaments and fractures . Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses magnetic fields to create cross-sectional and three-dimensional images of both bony and soft tissue structures, allowing easy visualization of multiple tissue types at once. MRI is used to assess shape of internal structures' ,to check for fractures or tears and size of structures to determine if its inflammation or atrophy, and also used to examine the intensity which can indicate edema or fluid collecting in bones or soft tissue. The MRI should be done on affected limb and opposite limb for comparison ,the MRI is usually carried out when proper lameness examination has been carried out. MRI can be used to visualize damage to the articular surfaces of the upper and lower hock joints. The MRI has been used to identify horses with lower hock cartilage/bone damage associated with the joints, as well as the bones surrounding the inter tarsal ligaments.