B-mode ultrasonography and gray scale histogram for evaluation of the nuchal ligament in Quarter horse

• Autor(a) principal: Santos,Wildemberto A.
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Vettorato,Michel C., Fogaça,Jéssica L., Mazzante,Nayara M.G., Oliveira,Fernanda G., Nogueira,Guilherme P., Luvizotto,Maria C.R., Machado,Vânia M.V.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-736X2019000800663
• topic: B-mode; ultrasonography; gray scale histogram; nuchal ligament; histogram; equine; Quarter Horse; morphology

ABSTRACT: The gray scale histogram (GSH) makes it possible to measure the amount and distribution of gray shade frequencies, providing quantitative information on both echogenicity and echotexture of tissues. There is a need to diminish the subjectivity of the ultrasound images of the nuchal ligament (NL). This work proposes to evaluate the NL by ultrasound B-mode GSH images in different ages of Quarter horses. It used 15 healthy Quarter horses, which were classified by age into three different groups: “baby” (1), “sobreano” (2) and “adult” (3). The animals were submitted to chemical restraint for the ultrasound examination. Subsequently, the GSH tool was used in each image for statistical analysis. There was a significant difference between Mean and Mode between groups. Group 1 differed significantly when compared to Group 2 and 3. Group 2 presented superior echogenicity to Group 1 and 3. The height of the NL did not vary considerably between groups. GSH indicated that the echogenicity of NL in Quarter horses varies with age.