Use of computed tomography in thoracic diseases of small animals

摘要

Radiographic evaluation of the thorax in small animals is one of the most important and most frequently performed diagnostic tests in small-animal practice. It offers good visualization of different intrathoracic structures and is particularly useful for the evaluation of pulmonary disorders (Schwarz and Tidwell, 1999). Nevertheless, a more complete assessment of the lung and the other surrounding thoracic structures may be obtained by use of alternative imaging techniques such as ultrasonography, scintigraphy and computed tomography (CT) (Spann et al., 1998; Tidwell, 2000). The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of CT in the diagnostic protocol of canine and feline patients affected by thoracic diseases.