2.6. Diagnostic Imaging
All clinical examinations were complemented using diagnostic imaging. B-mode ultrasonography, using Logiq E9 or Logiq P2 (GE-Healthcare, Solingen, Germany) or Aplio MX (Toshiba, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands) machines, was performed in all horses. Seven transverse and four longitudinal images were acquired from the metacarpal tendon region at defined levels [Moreover, most equine patients (n = 6 per group) additionally underwent color Doppler ultrasonography (CDU) using the ultrasound machines specified above and ultrasonographic tissue characterization (UTC; UTC scan unit, configuration 2011, UTC Imaging B.V., Stein, Netherlands). For both, again the whole metacarpal tendon segment was included in the assessment. In CDU, the mean percentage of vascularized area within the tendon was calculated from five images per examination as previously described [