Equine Nuclear Scintigraphy
Nuclear Scintigraphy is commonly referred to as a bone scan, and is used to evaluate complex lameness cases. The most common use of a bone scan is in those cases in which nerve blocks fail to localize a lameness, or in which lameness is localized but xray findings are negative. Under light sedation, the horse is injected with a rapidlydecaying radioactive isotope that circulates through the body and attaches to areas in which bones are actively remodeling. A scintillation camera and computer then measure the radiation that has temporarily bonded to limbs or vertebrae, discovering what is referred to as hot spots. A bone scan can often find a hot spot in its earliest stages, before a lesion has developed sufficiently to appear on xray, and when treatment can be most effective.
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