Difference in Length of the Metacarpal and Metatarsal Condyles in Calves and the Correlation to Claw Size

The lateral claw of a hind limb is affected by sole ulcers and laminitis much more frequently and more severely than other claws (Smits, Frankena et al. 1992; Kehler and Sohrt 2000). Although this fact is probably known for more than a century, the causes are not completely understood. Mechanical (Rusterholz 1920) or dynamic (Toussaint Raven 1985) overload of the lateral claw has been proposed. Recently, Paulus and Nuss found that the lateral claw reaches further distal than the medial claw. They concluded that there might be a difference in the length between the medial and lateral digit (Paulus and Nuss 2002). Because it had been shown, however, that the length of the digital bones was not different (Ranft 1936), they hy-pothesized that possibly the lateral metatarsal condyle might be longer than the medial (Paulus and Nuss 2002). Consequently, the objective of the following study was to investigate the length of the meta-carpal and metatarsal condyles in calves and to correlate the results to measurements of the claw size ...