Biomaterial Database

Determination of the stiffness of the equine cervical spine. 2010

H Pagger, and I Schmidburg, and C Peham, and T Licka

Department V, Movement Science Group Vienna, Clinic of Orthopaedics in Ungulates, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinaerplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.

This aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the stiffness of the equine cervical spine depends on the direction of force applied and on spinal position. Muscles and nuchal ligament were removed from the cervical spines of 17 horses that were without a history of cervical or neurological disease. The cervical spines were then flexed/extended dorsoventrally (with the spine straight and with the occiput rotated 30° against T1) and laterolaterally. Mean dorsoventral stiffness was 297 N/m (± 135) in flexion, 1347 N/m (± 2083) in extension, 421 N/m (± 164) in lateral flexion, 279 N/m (± 93) in rotated flexion, and 386 N/m (± 191) in rotated extension. There was a positive correlation between the length of cervical spine and stiffness for dorsoventral flexion (r = 0.63; P < 0.01) and extension (r = 0.53; P < 0.05). The stiffness of the equine cervical spine depended on the direction of the loading and was 2-7 times less than thoracolumbar stiffness in horses.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008159	Lumbar Vertebrae	VERTEBRAE in the region of the lower BACK below the THORACIC VERTEBRAE and above the SACRAL VERTEBRAE.	Vertebrae, Lumbar
D008297	Male		Males
D009333	Neck	The part of a human or animal body connecting the HEAD to the rest of the body.	Necks
D002574	Cervical Vertebrae	The first seven VERTEBRAE of the SPINAL COLUMN, which correspond to the VERTEBRAE of the NECK.	Cervical Spine,Cervical Spines,Spine, Cervical,Vertebrae, Cervical
D005260	Female		Females
D006736	Horses	Large, hoofed mammals of the family EQUIDAE. Horses are active day and night with most of the day spent seeking and consuming food. Feeding peaks occur in the early morning and late afternoon, and there are several daily periods of rest.	Equus caballus,Equus przewalskii,Horse, Domestic,Domestic Horse,Domestic Horses,Horse,Horses, Domestic
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001696	Biomechanical Phenomena	The properties, processes, and behavior of biological systems under the action of mechanical forces.	Biomechanics,Kinematics,Biomechanic Phenomena,Mechanobiological Phenomena,Biomechanic,Biomechanic Phenomenas,Phenomena, Biomechanic,Phenomena, Biomechanical,Phenomena, Mechanobiological,Phenomenas, Biomechanic
D013131	Spine	The spinal or vertebral column.	Spinal Column,Vertebrae,Vertebral Column,Vertebra,Column, Spinal,Column, Vertebral,Columns, Spinal,Columns, Vertebral,Spinal Columns,Vertebral Columns
D013314	Stress, Mechanical	A purely physical condition which exists within any material because of strain or deformation by external forces or by non-uniform thermal expansion; expressed quantitatively in units of force per unit area.	Mechanical Stress,Mechanical Stresses,Stresses, Mechanical