Ultrasonography of the cervical articular processes in donkeys and mules: technique and reference images

ABSTRACT In veterinary medicine, there are few descriptions in scientific literature referring ultrasound techniques in the cervical region of mules and donkeys. Based on patterns observed in horses, ultrasound-guided infiltrations are used for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. In this study, cervical joints were evaluated in 13 donkeys (12 females and 1 male) with mean weight of 133kg and ages between 4 and 16 years, and additionally 05 mules and 09 donkeys, with mean weight of 393kg and ages between 4 and 15 years, all of them were mixed breed. The ultrasound examinations were performed using a variable frequency linear transducer 3 to 11 Mhz. The scan protocol was performed starting on the dorsal aspect of each vertebra, followed by an assessment of the cranial region to the caudal portion of the vertebra, towards the joint processes, longitudinal and in the caudal direction of the joint. Variations of the angulation allowed the exact location of the joint processes and the corresponding joint, from the joint between cervical vertebra C2-C3 to the joint between C6-C7 and the corresponding references images. The results observed show that these ultrasound techniques can guide cervical intra-articular puncture in donkeys and mules, and it is possible used for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes, and it is suggested that more studies in this sense be performed.