In sport horses, stifle lameness is an important cause of loss of use. But diagnosing problems in this hind limb joint is no easy task due to its location and complexity.

Some veterinarians and researchers have proposed using computed tomography arthrography (joint evaluation) to evaluate the stifle joint. So Sarah Puchalski, DVM, Dipl. ACVR, associate professor of surgical and radiological sciences at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, traveled to the Netherlands to study this technique. She shared her findings at the 2013 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Dec. 7-11 in Nashville, Tenn.

"(The stifle's) multiple intercapsular soft tissue structures are complex," Puchalski began. "If any of them are injured, it can cause lameness."

Diagnosing stifle lamenesses typically requires anesthesia and an imaging technique such as radiography, ultrasound, or nuclear scintigraphy. However, none of these methods are without flaw