Premium
Equine distal limb diagnostic anaesthesia: (1) Basic principles and perineural techniques
Author(s) -
Barker Will
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
in practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.211
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2042-7689
pISSN - 0263-841X
DOI - 10.1136/inp.i567
Subject(s) - lameness , medicine , regional anaesthesia , physical examination , general anaesthesia , clinical practice , surgery , physical therapy
Despite technological advances in diagnostic imaging, diagnostic anaesthesia remains the cornerstone of lameness investigations in horses. It is often not possible to localise the source of lameness confidently on clinical history and examination alone, and there may be more than one site causing the problem. In such cases, a systematic approach should be adopted working from the foot in a proximal direction. If the initial history and clinical examination raise suspicion of a particular site as the source of lameness, a targeted approach can be used to improve the efficiency of the process and reduce the number of injections required. This article, the first in a two‐part series, reviews the basic principles involved in diagnostic anaesthesia and the various perineural techniques performed in the distal limb. The second article, to be published in a subsequent issue of In Practice , will cover intrasynovial anaesthesia of the distal limb.