Introduction

Limb length discrepancies are defined as differences between the length of forelimbs and/or hindlimbs. In dogs, limb length discrepancies could be related with canine gait patterns, claudication patterns, and some skeletal disease of the growing dogs.

Objective

Compare the length of femur bones in radiographic studies of hip dysplasia in Fila Brasileiro dogs.

Methods

The femur length of both hindlimbs was measured in radiographics of normal hips in twenty female Fila Brasileiro adult dogs. Anatomic references were measured from the trochanteric fossa top to the distal border of trochlea. The length of both femurs was compared using a Student's t-test for paired samples.

Results

Ages of dogs ranged between 32 and 46 months. The right femur was greater in length than the left femur, but did not show significant differences between them (p>0,05) (Table 1).

Table 1. Length of right and left femurs in twenty Fila Brasileiro dogs

Means with equal letters don't have significant differences by Student's t-test (for independent samples).

Conclusions

Right and left femur measurements in this study showed the same lengths. The length of different bones should be measured using radiographic and physical external references, for determining the limb length discrepancies and the real importance in canine gait patterns, claudication patterns, and some skeletal diseases of growing dogs, among others.