Single-photon emission computed tomography of the pelvis and lumbar spine contributes to the diagnosis of injury in two horses

Lameness originating from injury to the pelvis and lumbar spine remains a diagnostic challenge for equine veterinarians. Nuclear scintigraphy is frequently used to aid in the localisation of injuries to this region; however, the lack of image contrast due to anatomical superimposition in the pelvis and lumbar spine complicates image interpretation. To the authors' knowledge, the use of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has not been previously reported in the horse. This article describes the clinical use of SPECT in the horse to aid the diagnosis of injury to the region of the sacroiliac joint and lumbar vertebrae which was not identified on planar imaging.