Tenovaginoscopic approach to the common digital flexor tendon sheath of adult cattle: technique, normal findings and preliminary results in four clinical cases

The aim of this study was to describe the tenovaginoscopic approach to the bovine common digital flexor tendon sheath (CDFTS). A comparative anatomical, ultrasonographic and endoscopic study was undertaken using 26 healthy cadaver feet from adult dairy cows. Tenovaginoscopy was performed using a rigid, 30 degrees arthroscope (length 18 cm; outer diameter 4mm) enabling a direct view of the synovial cavity and the following structures: digital flexor tendons, digital annular ligaments, lateral and medial pouches, three mesotendons, the vinculum of the superficial digital flexor tendon, and a slot-shaped opening in the manicaflexoria of the hind feet. Additionally, four clinical cases of septic tenosynovitis treated with lavage under tenovaginoscopic control were examined. Tenovaginoscopy represents a feasible, minimally invasive method for the diagnosis and treatment of septic tenosynovitis of the CDFTS, which allows the degree of alterations of the normal structures to be evaluated.

Oral-facial-digital syndrome type VI: is C5orf42 really the major gene?

Oral-facial-digital type VI syndrome (OFDVI) is a rare phenotype of Joubert syndrome (JS). Recently, C5orf42 was suggested as the major OFDVI gene, being mutated in 9 of 11 families (82 %). We sequenced C5orf42 in 313 JS probands and identified mutations in 28 (8.9 %), most with a phenotype of pure JS. Only 2 out of 17 OFDVI patients (11.7 %) were mutated. A comparison of mutated vs. non-mutated OFDVI patients showed that preaxial and mesoaxial polydactyly, hypothalamic hamartoma and other congenital defects may predict C5orf42 mutations, while tongue hamartomas are more common in negative patients.