CT or MRI? When to use each and whyMarch 15, 2019Use MRI for meningitis, encephalitis, fibrocartilaginous embolism, malignancy of liver tumors, muscle tears and strains, and cranial cruciate rupture, says Tony Pease, DVM, MS, DACVR, chief veterinary medical officer of the Western Veterinary Conference Oquendo Center in Las Vegas, Nev. For fragmented medial coronoid processes, dental disease, 3-D reconstructions, and small bone fractures, use CT, he advises. "In general, MRI can see more medically treated lesions, but CT and MRI can see lesions that are amenable with surgery," Dr. Pease says. "However, gastrointestinal lesions are questionable. The motion of the gastrointestinal tract makes large artifacts, as does metal (e.g. microchips), which is not a factor with CT as opposed to MRI." MRI is preferred whenever disease of the central nervous system is suspected, says Nathan C. Nelson DVM, MS, DACVR, clinical associate professor of radiology at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. "MRI has excellent ability to image soft tissue structures and is able to differentiate gray matter, white matter, nerves, and cerebrospinal fluid to a much greater extent than CT," Dr. Nelson says. "In any case, where brain disease is suspected—such as the acutely seizing dog or the dog with sudden behavior change—MRI is the …
SPONSORED CONTENTProtect your patients from the start.Simparica Trio (sarolaner, moxidectin, and pyrantel chewable tablets) is the first monthly preventative of its kind. Combining three ingredients for month-long protection. + Learn more
UC Davis vets remove life-threatening tumor from koi fishOctober 18, 2018The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) veterinary hospital’s Aquatic Animal Health Unit of the Companion Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery Service has removed a large tumor from Madonna, a six-year-old female koi fish’s distended abdomen.
