RADIOLOGICAL CHANGES OF THE RABBIT KNEE JOINT IN EXPERIMENTAL OSTEOARTHRITIS

Abstract

In veterinary medicine, radiological examinations are considered to be the most common and affordable method of diagnosing diseases of the musculoskeletal system in animals [1]. In this regard, the studies described in this article were aimed at assessing the degree of degenerative changes during the modelling of knee osteoarthritis using an X-ray apparatus. The material of the study was the joints of experimental animals (rabbits) with formed osteoarthritis of the knee joint on days 14, 21 and 28 of the experiment. The rabbits were modelled for degenerative changes in the knee joint by intra-articular injection of a 4% solution of retinol acetate and kojic acid. On days 7, 14, 21, and 28 of the experiment, X-ray examination was performed. Radiological examinations were performed in two projections, namely, in the direct (ventro-dorsal) and lateral (medio-lateral) projections. The study was carried out on the basis of the training laboratory "Veterinary Radiology and Radiodiagnostics" of the Department of Therapy and Clinical Diagnostics of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine using the radiological device VATEL-1. On the 14th day of experimental studies, no visible bone pathology was observed in animals, the height of the joint gap was preserved bilaterally. On the 21st day, in the area of the right knee joint (where the pathological process was formed), a moderate decrease in the height of the joint gap was noted during radiography with a predominance in the medial section. On the 28th day of the experiment, a uniform decrease in the height of the joint gap was observed in the right knee joint during radiography. These changes indicate progressive degenerative changes with cartilage loss in the knee joint of the experimental animals. Thus, on X-ray images on days 21 and 28 of the experiment, a decrease in the height of the articular gap in the knee joint was noted.