On Navicular Disease in the Horse

Osseous bodies associated with the impar ligament have been reported to be chip fractures of the distal margin of the navicular bone and a radiographic finding in navicular disease. This study demonstrates that chip fractures do exist along the distal margin of the navicular bone and that there are, in addition, three other processes by which bone tissue may develop in the impar ligament: (i) ossification secondary to ligamentous damage, (ii) separate centers of ossification within the impar ligament, and (iii) ossification of cartilage particles in adjacent synovial tissue.