Microcomputed tomography and histology of a fragmented medial coronoid process in a 20-week-old golden retriever

A 20-week-old male golden retriever, which was not lame and showed no clinical signs of a fragmented medial coronoid process (FCP), was euthanased for another study and perfused intravenously with formaldehyde. Gross dissection revealed no abnormalities within the right elbow joint. The medial coronoid process was excised, embedded in methylmethacrylate, scanned in a microcomputed tomography (microCT) scanner and sectioned for histology. The microCT scans revealed a dense trabecular bone structure, much denser than in other dogs of similar age, which was considered to be responsible for the sclerosis visible at the base of the coronoid process in radiographs. Three-dimensional reconstructions indicated that there was a small step within the subchondral bone, extending from the apex towards the radial notch. Histology revealed a necrotic lesion between locally thickened articular cartilage and the subchondral bone, characteristic of osteochondrosis.