The OARSI histopathology initiative - recommendations for histological assessments of osteoarthritis in the horse

Objective: Equine models of osteoarthritis (OA) have been used to investigate pathogenic pathways of OA and evaluate therapeutic candidates for naturally occurring equine OA which is a significant clinical disease in the horse. This review focuses on the macroscopic and microscopic criteria for assessing naturally occurring OA in the equine metacarpophalangeal joint as well as the osteochondral fragment-exercise model of OA in the equine middle carpal joint.

Methods: A review was conducted of all published OA studies using horses and the most common macroscopic and microscopic scoring systems were summarized. Recommendations regarding methods of OA assessment in the horse have been made based on published studies.

Results: A modified Mankin scoring system is recommended for semi-quantitative histological assessment of OA in horses due to its already widespread use and similarity to other scoring systems. Recommendations are also provided for histological scoring of synovitis and macroscopic lesions of OA as well as changes in the calcified cartilage and subchondral bone of naturally occurring OA.

Conclusions: The proposed system for assessment of equine articular tissues provides a useful method to quantify OA change. It is believed that addition of quantitative tracing onto plastic and macroscopic measurement as recently described would be an improvement for overall assessment of articular cartilage change.