Monday, my latest set of x-rays was returned from the OFA. Friday, my boss was out and his cubicle was dark so I put a white background on his iMac and used it to make a lightbox for photos of all my x-rays. Eventually the bottom two will go to Germany for the a-stamps. Since HD is a well-known issue for GSDs, I'm kind of an x-ray nerd and like to see as many examples of GSD films as possible to get a better understanding of the breed's skeletal conformation. So, I thought I'd share Nikon here for those who share my interest! Obviously the actual films are better but so far these are the best photos I've been able to get (I have all developed films, no digitals). The bit if texture you see in the light areas is from the computer screen (not sure how it works, but that shows up when I take a picture of a screen).
Hips, 7 months (taken by a radiology specialist)
Elbows, 7months (taken by a radiology specialist)
Hips, 24 months (taken by my regular vet)
Hips (different film), 24 months (taken by my regular vet)
Elbows, 24 months (taken by my regular vet)
Spine, 24 months (taken by my regular vet)
Hips, 24 months (taken by a radiology specialist)...these were submitted to OFA and graded Good
Elbows, 24 months (taken by a radiology specialist)...these were submitted to OFA and graded Normal
Nikon does NOT have hip dysplasia, but what is interesting about him is that he has Transitional Vertebral Segment (TVS) with Asymmetric Pelvic Attachment (APA). This is the final diagnosis of the radiologist. So far, the best summary of this condition I've found here in this article by Fred Lanting ("Mr. GSD";), it pretty much states what was concluded by the radiology expert: http://www.dogstuff.info/transitional_vertebral_segment_lanting.html. You can see on Nikon's hip films that there is a transitional vertebra with a "transverse process" (the spiny thing that juts out of the vertebra) on only the right side of the screen. The spine is connected to the pelvis in this area and because the TVS is not symmetrical, it makes the pelvis basically impossible to position so that all of the dark areas appear symmetrical (usually one indicator of correct positioning).