Needle muscle biopsy: technique validation and histological and histochemical methods for evaluating canine skeletal muscles

Abstract

This study evaluated the needle muscle biopsy technique using a 6G Bergström percutaneous needle combined with histological and histochemical methods to analyze the skeletal muscle of dogs. There are few studies about canine skeletal muscles and a lack of reports in the literature about tissue collection and analysis for canine species. Evaluation of 32 German Shepherd samples collected from the gluteus medius, at a depth of 3 cm, was performed. The choice of gluteus medius and the 3-cm depth provided good quantity fragments with sufficient sizes (3–5 mm), which permitted optimal visualization of muscle fibers. Myosin ATPase, at pH 9.4, 4.6, and 4.3, and SDH reactions revealed that all muscle samples analyzed had fibers in the classic mosaic arrangement, enabling counting and typification. The mean percentages of fibers were 29.95% for type I and 70.05% for type II. On the basis of these results, we concluded that the percutaneous needle biopsy technique for canine skeletal muscles is a safe and easy procedure that obtains fragments of proper sizes, thereby enabling the study of muscle fibers. Standardization of the muscle of choice and the depth of muscle sample collection significantly contributed to this success. This is an important method to evaluate muscle fiber types of dogs and diagnose important diseases affecting the skeletal muscles.