Abstract:
Although porcupine quill injuries are common in dogs, the detailed appearance of the quill on
diagnostic ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging has not been
sufficiently described. A 4-year-old, intact, female Jack Russel terrier presented with severe
neck pain and ataxia after an altercation with a porcupine 2 weeks earlier. Radiology, diagnostic
ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were all utilised to
identify a quill imbedded in the cervical vertebral canal and cervical musculature and were
compared to each other. Surgical removal of the quill, guided by imaging findings, led to the
resolution of the clinical signs in the patient. Previous ultrasound imaging reports have just
stated that the quill consists of paralell hyperechoic lines, and do not mention the finer
hyperechoic lines inbetween and do not try to provide a reason for the appearance. Previous
computed tomography (CT) reports just mention identifying the quill on CT images (whether
or not CT could identify the fragments), but do not go into detail about the attenuating
appearance of the quill nor try to relate this to the composition of the quill. This is to the authors’
knowledge the first report with detailed imaging descriptions of a case of cranial cervical
vertebral canal porcupine quill foreign body in a dog. This is also the first report to allude to a
possible difference in imaging findings related to quill structure because of keratin orientation
and melanin content. The ideal imaging modality to use remains elusive, but ultrasound,
computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging could all identify the quill.
