Ultrasonography for the diagnosis of diseases of the tendon and tendon sheath of the biceps brachii muscle

OBJECTIVE: To describe the ultrasonographic appearance of the normal and diseased biceps brachii tendon and its tendon sheath in dogs. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective clinical study. ANIMALS: One hundred twenty client-owned dogs. METHODS: In the first part of the study, the ultrasonographic appearance of the normal biceps brachii muscle and the surrounding soft tissue was determined in 27 healthy dogs. Standard views were described and established. In the second part, 120 dogs with suspected pathology of the biceps brachii muscle were examined ultrasonographically. Fifty-five of these dogs had no sonographic changes, and 65 dogs had sonographically detectable pathologic changes of the tendon or the tendon sheath or both. The mean age of the affected dogs was 3.7 years. The ratio of males to females was 1.95:1. Sedation or anesthesia of the dogs was required because of the extreme movements of the leg necessary for the examination. To achieve a perpendicular view of the tendon and the tendon sheath, the area of the shoulder joint was rotated outward and abducted as far as possible. Examination of the muscle-tendon apparatus of the biceps brachii muscle was divided into 4 main sections. RESULTS: Linear transducers (7.5-10 MHz) allowed the soft tissue structures to be easily visualized with ultrasonography. Pathologic changes of the tendon and tendon sheath were visualized sonographically by using high-frequency linear probes. Partial or complete tendon rupture, medial luxation of the tendon, corpora libera in the tendon sheath, and tenosynovitis were clearly shown. CONCLUSIONS: High-frequency ultrasonography using linear transducers allows the examiner to accurately define the pathologic changes in the region of the biceps brachii tendon in dogs. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The use of sonography for diagnosis of disease processes of the tendon and tendon sheath of the biceps brachii muscle complements clinical and radiographic examination findings.