Osteochondrosis (OC) is a common disease that arises in the developing joints of people, horses, pigs, dogs and other species. OC is defined as a disturbance in enchondral ossification, and in horses, the disturbance is due to primary disease of growth cartilage. At the epiphyseal growth cartilage, the disturbance tends to occur at specific predilection sites, and can lead to the formation of partially or completely detached fragments, or subchondral bone cysts, at these sites. The fragments consist of cartilage with or without bone. Whereas articular cartilage is avascular, growth cartilage has a rich blood supply during the early phases of development through so-called cartilage canals. Cartilage canals have been implicated in the pathogenesis of OC in pigs and horses
