Page 125 - Veterinary diagnostic imaging birds exotic pets wildlife

Chapter 11

The Wing: Soft Tissue Injuries

III BRUISES, PUNCTURES, load placed on the wing when in flight and functions

AND LACERATIONS as a stabilizer to counteract the buffeting force of the
wind. Damage to this critical part of the wing may
Bruises occur as the result of collisions with automo- secondarily result in a defective or deformed wing
biles, trucks, and power lines, and they generally surface, for which a bird may or may not be able to
accompany falls after a bird has been shot. Punctures compensate by adjusting its various control surfaces

and lacerations can occur from flying into barbed wire (Figure 11-2).
(Figure 11-1) or from being attacked by a dog, cat, or
wild animal. Some of these wounds can be diffi cult to Dislocations
detect because they are hidden beneath layers of feath-
ers and have not bled a great deal. Although radiographically invisible, serious sprains
can be inferred from dislocations (luxations, sublux-
ations). For example, a complete dislocation of the
III STRAINS elbow must at the very least stretch (and in many
instances tear) one or both collateral ligaments. Accord-
Among the most serious wing strains are those occur- ingly, such injuries must be promptly relocated and
ring to the body or tendon of the primary fl ight muscles, immobilized long enough for the ligament to heal. If
the pectoralis or supracoracoideus. Complete sever- not, the joint will become arthritic.
ance, rupture, or avulsion of either the origin or inser-
tion of these flight-critical muscles constitutes an even III POSTTRAUMATIC MUSCLE

more serious injury.
ATROPHY AND LOSS OF
TENDON ELASTICITY
III SPRAINS
Although not an actual injury, posttraumatic muscle
atrophy, with a concomitant loss in tendon elasticity,
Propatagial Ligament
poses a serious threat to normal flight. The only

The propatagial ligament, a large, cordlike ligament practical way for a bird to regain muscle mass and

strung from the shoulder to the carpus, provides the flexibility is to use its injured wing—a process that
principal leading-edge support for the skin and feath- initially can be quite slow. Thus the necessity for
ers covering the proximal half of the wing. Addition- controlled rehabilitation, especially in the case of
ally, the propatagiale ligament assumes some of the raptors.
121

2/11/2008 10:57:03 AM
ch011-A02527.indd 121
ch011-A02527.indd 121 2/11/2008 10:57:03 AM