Radiographic assessment of navicular bones, based on changes in the distal nutrient foramina.

Radiographic examination of the navicular bones of 258 horses was carried out. Of these 258 horses, 83 were sound (Group A), 151 had been diagnosed clinically as having navicular disease (Group B), and 24 had a forefoot lameness of unknown aetiology (Group C). Seven basic shapes of distal nutrient foramina were identified from these radiographs. A scoring system was then developed based on these different types of distal nutrient foramina. When this scoring system was applied to the radiographs of the 258 horses examined significant differences were found between the mean navicular scores of the horses in Groups A, B and C. It is considered that this navicular scoring system could be very useful for comparing radiographs of the navicular bones of different horses and recording serial radiographs of navicular bones of the same horse.