Radiographic Morphometry of the Proximal Femur and Hip Joint in Spitz Breed Dogs: Establishing Breed-Specific...

Variations in hip joint morphology are clinically important because they influence both the diagnosis of orthopaedic disease and the success of surgical interventions. Establishing breed- and gender-specific reference values is therefore essential for understanding normal canine hip anatomy and its variations. The present study aimed to provide radiographic morphometric reference data for the proximal femur and acetabulum in healthy Spitz breed dogs. Sixty adult dogs (30 males, 30 females) underwent standardised ventrodorsal extended hip radiographs under general anaesthesia. Acetabular and femoral morphological parameters were measured, and mean ± SD values were compared between genders and between left and right sides. Most parameters showed no significant differences across groups; however, femoral length, femoral neck length, and right-sided acetabular offset differed significantly between genders. Combined acetabular parameters (depth index, centre-edge angle) also showed gender-specific variation, whereas combined femoral parameters did not. These results provide the first comprehensive radiographic morphometric dataset for the Spitz breed and demonstrate subtle gender-related differences with minimal left-right asymmetry. We hypothesise that these reference values will support future comparative morphometric studies and contribute to preclinical orthopaedic research, while offering a foundation for the potential development of breed-specific surgical planning tools.