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Clinical Translation of Computed Tomography in Zoos and Gross Anatomic Interpretation
Author(s) -
Hostnik Eric T.,
Adkesson Michael J
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.329.3
Subject(s) - computed tomography , medicine , medical physics , radiology , referral , family medicine
The clinical use of computed tomography in veterinary medicine has been an upward trend since its initial installment. The cross‐sectional imaging modality was previously isolated to large referral clinics and academic hospitals. The novelty of the tomographic tool has transitioned into a staple for advanced medical care. Research using computed tomography in the clinical setting for small animal medicine grows yearly. Comfort with the interpretation of hundreds to thousands of serial images for cats and dogs is becoming more commonplace and routine, especially with new generations of American College of Veterinary Radiology specialists that train for years with computed tomography. The new frontier for cross‐sectional computed tomographic imaging is the expansion into the world of non‐domestic zoo species. Computed tomography is becoming a popular tool of the small animal radiologist. In the hospital setting, dogs/cats are tranquilized with sedation or general anesthesia providing a compliant patient for rapid image acquisition of standardized protocols. Reviewing multiple animals of the same species each day enables a consistent systematic approach. However, species diversity and evolution are among the largest challenges to a veterinary radiologist working in the zoo setting. Unique, species‐specific adaptations in a diverse collection of taxa derail the routine approach to image interpretation. Understanding form and function becomes more important in the zoo field. Zoo computed tomography is a nascent field in radiology with limitless potential for discovery and collaboration between clinical hospitals and academic institutions. This presentation will discuss transitioning an advanced imaging tool into the clinical setting of zoo medicine to aid in overcoming boundaries of shells in turtles, improving the conspicuity of air sacs in penguins, and developing research to build a foundation of clinical anatomy in non‐domestic species. Support or Funding Information Support was provided by Barbara Levy Kipper and the Kipper Family Foundation. Special thanks to the animal care and veterinary staff at the Brookfield Zoo. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .