Clinical history A mature rabbit was presented with an acute history of lameness of the front limb - the elbow joint palpated swollen and was painful - the surrounding soft tissue was noted to be rather firm - radiographs were made of the forelimb. Radiographs - what is your diagnosis? Enlarged view of the elbow Radiographic changes Intra-articular olecranon fracture with marked separation of the fragments. The margins of the fracture fragments are indistinct. Bridging bony callus is evident proximal and distal to the fracture line and medially. Radiographic diagnosis Chronic intra-articular fracture of the olecranon with a pattern of healing callus indicating the age of the injury to be 2-3 weeks at a minimum. Comments With questioning, the owner of the rabbit admitted that the injury was 2 weeks old and the animal had been lame for that period of time. It was obvious in palpating the joint that a firm callus was present with no motion of the fracture fragment. Careful examination of the radiographs showed the early fibrocartilaginous healing callus, the result of movement at the fracture site. Fortunately, the status of the fracture was determined and an attempt to surgically reduce a partially healed fracture was avoided.
