Weisbrode S E, Monke D R, Dodaro S T, Hull B L
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1982 Oct 1;181(7):700-5.
Twenty-five middle-age (65 +/- 18 months) dairy bulls sent to slaughter for nonmedical reasons were evaluated for joint disease in the stifle and the lumbar vertebrae. Fourteen bulls had degenerative joint disease and 3 had osteochondrosis (osteochondritis dissecans) of the distal end of the femur. These lesions predominantly involved the lateral trochlear ridge. Twenty-one bulls had vertebral osteophytosis. Degenerative joint disease and vertebral osteophytosis were common in these middle-aged bulls and, even when severe, were rarely associated with lameness.
