Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / January 2008

The white spot appears to be as dense as bone, which I would not expect.
The radiograph (or is it your picture?) is quite blurry, though. If it's
the radiograph, then the dog was moving when the radiograph was being
taken. This can make things a little harder to identify. The spot looks
like it's just outside of the dog's leg, which would make it either
something on the fur or something on the radiograph plate. If it's just
under the skin (you should be able to feel it) then the most typical
cause for something like this is a BB or a piece of shotgun shot. In
those cases, the object should have a density of metal, which I wouldn't
say your spot has, although it is fuzzy so that may affect that
determination.

I'm not sure about the black line to which you refer. Is there a chance
that's the patellar tendon running from the distal patella to the tibial
tuberosity?

On the lateral view of the left elbow you can see osteophytes on the
anterior aspect of the proximal radius ("fluffiness" in the inner angle
created by the upper and lower parts of the arm) and osteophytes on the
posterior aspect of the distal humerus (fluffiness on the outer angle to
the left of the point of the elbow).

Note the significant motion artifacts in the radiograph of the right
elbow. Also note the human phalangeal bones in this radiograph. Hint,
use full gloves or at least make sure your fingers are fully under the
lead with those hand shields.

The anterioposterior (AP) view of both elbows shows the osteophytes
quite readily on the medial aspect of the joint. They're on the medial
humeral epicondyle and the medial ulna. Erwin most likely has a
fragmented coronoid process, a type of elbow dysplasia, but I guess you
know that already. Also note on this view, the same type of artifact
seen in the lateral stifle film. On this film it's actually 3 pieces and
they're medial to the left elbow. Perhaps a project in your spare time
is to clean the cassettes. Clean the outside really well and open the
cassettes to clean the white portions of the cassettes that the film
lies between when it's closed. If these cassettes are really old, they
may be damaged and the artifacts will show up on all films.

The most important thing to learn when viewing radiographs is to know
what's normal. Until that it secure in your brain, the rest will be
confusing. You must be able to differentiate normal from abnormal,
abnormal from artifact and know what changes are present in the entire
film which may hinder your seeing a particular abnormality.

Good luck,

Sandy, DVM

Hi Dale,
    There is a faint black line beneath the proximal tibia within the
muscles.  It extends up toward the small sesamoid bones.  This is a
characteristic finding when there is joint capsule swelling due to a
ruptured cruciate ligament.  I believe the black line you are referring to
is an angular view of the trochlear groove and a normal finding.  The white
dot near the midshaft tibia appears to be an artifact.

Ladyvet