ANATOMIA ULTRASSONOGRÁFICA DAS ESTRUTURAS FLEXORAS DISTAIS DOS MEMBROS TORÁCICOS DE TOUROS DE RODEIO.
( ULTRASONOGRAPHIC ANATOMY OF THE DISTAL FLEXORAL STRUCTURES OF THE TORACIC MEMBERS OF RODEO BULLS)
Cattle. Diagnostic Imaging. Tendon injuries. Rodeo bulls. Jumping athletes. High performance.
The presence of a Veterinary as a technical manager in rodeos is mandatory to ensure good practices and welfare of the animals. In this context, ultrasonography has become a powerful tool in large animal medicine, especially in equine sports medicine. In this specie, there are countless reports over tendon injuries diagnosed by ultrasound. Meanwhile, there are still no published studies in bovine athletes regarding the same issue. So, the aim of the present study is to describe the ultrasound anatomy of the flexor structures of the distal thoracic limbs of rodeo bulls, with emphasis on the ultrasound aspects and measurements, also, verify possible correlations between these measurements andbody weight. Upon formal written authorization, 43 bulls from a breeding and high-performance training center were submitted to physical examination to certify their health, and three of them were excluded from the experimental group. This study will be presented in two parts. The first one consists in a general introduction about rodeo and the application of ultrasound in large animals, focusing on the limbs. The second will be presented in article format, which will include all the relevant results, followed by discussion, and possible limitations with the ultrasound technique. We believe that all the data,concerning the anatomy of the bull thoracic limb, will improve the diagnosis and prognosis of musculoskeletal injuries in rodeo bulls.