A review of imaging techniques in canine discospondylitis

A review of imaging techniques in canine discospondylitis Many diseases encountered in veterinary medicine cause spinal pain in dogs. Spinal pain may result from diseases of the intervertebral discs, facet joints, vertebral periosteum, nerve roots, spinal cord and meninges. In many cases of spinal pain, certain imaging techniques and laboratory tests are necessary to obtain a definitive diagnosis. Discospondylitis is caused by infection of the intervertebral disc and adjacent vertebral endplates. Despite modern cross-sectional imaging techniques, diagnosis of discosponcylitis at an early stage of the disease can be difficult. The purpose of this article is to discuss the value of different imaging techniques (radiography, linear tomography, sonography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and scintigraphy) in diagnosing discospondylitis. MRI, CT and radiography are the imaging procedures of choice. The increased water content in the inflamed tissue allows an early diagnosis with MRI, while CT is useful to detect bony erosions as the disease progresses. In an advanced stage of the disease, radiographs may be useful for assessing the amount of vertebral destruction and for follow-up examinations.