The slope of the pelvis is variable in dogs but does not show correlation with femoral subluxation

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate the variability of the slope of the pelvis in different dog breeds and the correlation between pelvic slope and femoral subluxation. The sacrum–pelvis angle (SPA), the angulation between the sacrum and the axis of the ilium was created to represent the differences in the slope of the pelvis on lateral pelvic radiographs. The Norberg angle (NA) was used to quantify the femoral subluxation on hip-extended radiographs. Archived standard ventrodorsal hip radiographs and lateral lumbosacral radiographs of the same dogs were retrieved and a single observer measured the SPA and the NA in each case. A total of 180 dogs from six different breeds were sampled. The SPA varied between 40° and 71.5° and the NA between 71.2° and 113.9°. The findings indicated that there are significant individual and interbreed variations in the slope of the pelvis. However, no significant relationship between the slope of the pelvis and femoral subluxation could be identified.