On the differential diagnosis of arthropathy in bovids

The paper reviews the aetiology and diagnosis of joint pathologies in cattle and caprines. Key papers in the animal palaeopathology literature are briefl y reviewed, and the potential and limitations of the veterinary literature are discussed. The aetiology and pathognomic clinical criteria of common arthropathies are described, with particular concentration on osteoarthrosis and osteochondrosis. The term osteochondrosis (or osteochondritis) dissecans is not appropriate for zooarchaeological material and should be discontinued. The application of clinical criteria to dry bone specimens is demonstrated for series of zooarchaeological specimens that illustrate the common arthropathies and some more unusual cases. The need for greater diagnostic consistency and ready access to comparative specimens is identifi ed and a provisional scheme for classifi cation and differential diagnosis of arthropathies in bovid bones proposed.