The Differences in Radiographic Vertebral Size in Dogs with Different Chest and Skull Types

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Radiology
• Comparative Anatomy
• Canine Biomechanics

Background:

• Vertebral morphometrics are crucial for diagnosing skeletal conditions in dogs.
• Previous studies have not comprehensively assessed how various canine morphological traits influence vertebral dimensions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate variations in vertebral length, height, and length/height ratio in key thoracic and lumbar vertebrae (T4, L2, L5, L7) of dogs.
• To determine the influence of body size, skull type, and thoracic conformation on these vertebral parameters.
• To explore the relationship between vertebral dimensions and canine age and sex.

Main Methods:

• Radiographic analysis of 258 dogs across different body sizes, skull types (mesocephalic, brachycephalic, dolichocephalic), and thoracic conformations (deep-chest, round-chest, barrel-chest).
• Statistical analysis to correlate vertebral measurements with age, sex, body weight (BW), skull type, and thoracic conformation.

Main Results:

• Vertebral length and height strongly correlate with body weight (BW) and are significantly larger in large breeds compared to small/medium breeds.
• Mesocephalic dogs exhibited greater vertebral length and height than brachycephalic and dolichocephalic dogs.
• Deep-chest and round-chest dogs had larger vertebrae than barrel-chest dogs.
• Age showed weak negative correlations with vertebral length and height; sex had no significant effect.

Conclusions:

• Canine vertebral dimensions are significantly influenced by body size, skull morphology, and thoracic conformation.
• The vertebral length/height ratio of T4 is a stable parameter, unaffected by the studied factors.
• Breed-specific vertebral measurements are recommended for accurate comparative radiographic analysis in veterinary medicine.