USING A SINGLE DIMENSION OF T2 MRI FOR DETERMINING THE EFFECT OF DEGREE OF BRACHYCEPHALIA ON THE CREATED SOFT PALATE ANGULATION IN DOGS: IN VIVO STUDY

Comunicación Libre

Diagnostico por imagen

(1) university of baghdad
(2) glasgow univeristy
(3) extra vet neurology

Aseel Hussein (1)
Martin Sullivan (2)
Jacques Penderis (3)

RESUMEN CORTO - SHORT SUMMARY

This study aimed to find out a possible relationship between the angulation of soft palate and the degree of brachycephalia. 55 dogs of different breeds had no respiratory disorders were included. All the work was done in small animal hospital of Veterinary School/Glasgow University and the ethical approval was granted through the local Ethics and Welfare Committee of the University. Using single dimension, the midline sagittal plane of MRI, an angle was created to determine the angulation of the soft palate. It was defined as an angle between a straight line passes from the caudal nasal spine of palatine and the end of the soft palate from a side and a line extends from the end of the soft palate and the middle of the ventral margin of the foramen magnum on the other side (Figure 1). The effect of head conformation, bodyweight, age and sex on the degree of the created angle were also measured.

The results showed that the angle is only correlated to the head shape (P=0.0079) but not the other factors. And when the angle were compared between the brachycephalic and non-brachycephalic groups, the results showed that the angle were M±SD=73±18 and M±SD=87±10 for brachycephalic and non-brachycephalic groups respectively.

It is concluded that the lower degree of the soft palate angle is associated with the higher degree of brachycephalia. These findings may be considered for breeding purposes for reducing the possibility of having brachycephalic airway syndrome in dogs.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA
1. Hussein, AK, Sullivan, M, Penderis, J. Effect of brachycephalic, mesaticephalic, and dolichocephalic head conformations on olfactory bulb angle and orientation in dogs as determined by use of in vivo magnetic resonance imaging. Am J Vet Res 2012; 73: 946– 951.
2. Renko, M.; Kristo, A.; Tapiainen, T.; Koivunen, P.; Ilkko, E.; Alho, O. and Uhari, M. (2007)  Nasopharyngeal dimensions in magnetic resonance imaging and the risk of acute otitis media.  Journal of Laryngology & Otology  121, 853-856.