Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How femoral head shape affects hip dysplasia in German Shepherds
By Wigger, Antje et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2008·Department for Veterinary Clinical Science, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Influence of femoral head and neck conformation on hip dysplasia in the German Shepherd dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at the hip structure of 294 German Shepherds to see if a specific shape of the femoral head and neck, called broomstick-like conformation, was linked to hip dysplasia. They found that about 61% of the dogs had this shape, but it didn't seem to affect their hip health. Both dogs with the broomstick-like shape and those with a normal shape had similar hip scores, meaning they were equally likely to have hip dysplasia. This suggests that the broomstick-like shape is a common and normal variation in German Shepherds, not a cause for concern.
People also search for: German Shepherd hip dysplasia · dog hip problems · broomstick femoral head shape in dogs
Abstract
We investigated the prevalence of an anatomic variant of the proximal femur, termed the broomstick-like femoral head and neck formation, and its influence on the Féderation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) hip dysplasia score in 294 German Shepherd dogs. One-hundred and eighty (61%) of the 294 dogs in our study had this anatomic variant. The calculated area of the femoral heads in dogs with a broomstick-like conformation was 4.5 +/- 0.6 cm2 on the hip-extended view. In dogs with a normal femoral head, the calculated area of the femoral head was significantly larger at 4.8 +/- 0.6 cm2 (P < 0.05). In the frog-leg view, there was no significant difference in femoral head area between dogs with the broomstick-like conformation and normal dogs. There was no difference in the antetorsion angle between dogs with broomstick-like conformation and normal dogs. There was also no difference in the distraction ratio between the two phenotypes. The official FCI hip score was similar in dogs with and without the broomstick-like conformation. The average heritability of the broomstick-like conformation was 0.3 +/- 0.1, suggesting heritable influence. We conclude that the broomstick-like conformation is a common finding in the German shepherd dog and has genetic base. The broomstick-like conformation does not appear to be associated with the presence of canine hip dysplasia and it can therefore be assumed to be a normal anatomic variant.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18546779/