Radiography Small Animal Abdomen 1

Front 1

What views should be taken for abdominal radiography?

Back 1

Always two views: VD or DV and lateral
-Usually VD bc DV compresses abdominal width & structures
-DV as supplemental view to redistribute fluid & air

Front 2

What are the cranial and caudal borders for an abdominal radiograph?

Back 2

Include diaphragm and pelvic inlet

Front 3

When should a grid be used for abdominal radiographs?

Back 3

When greater than 10 cm thick

Front 4

Should an abdominal film be taken upon inspiration or expiration?

Back 4

Expiration bc a little longer than inspiration so less motion

Front 5

Why do we like fat for radiographs but not for ultrasounds?

Back 5

Ultrasounds love fluid but fat absorbs beam and distorts image

Front 6

What are the 3 normal openings of the diaphragm starting dorsal and going ventral?

Back 6

1) Aortic hiatus
-Aorta, azygos vein, thoracic duct, hemiazygous veins
2) Esophageal hiatus
-Esophagus & vagus nerve
3) Caudal vena cava hiatus

Front 7

What are 4 types of diaphragmatic hernias?

Back 7

1) Traumatic (most common)
-Increase in abdominal pressure w/ open glottis
2) Hiatal
3) Congenital
4) Peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia (peritoneal content is in the pericardium)

Front 8

What organ most commonly herniates with a hiatal hernia in the diaphragm? PPDH?

Back 8

Stomach=hiatal
Liver (most cranial)=peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia

Front 9

What allows us to see abdominal detail?

Back 9

Fat
Abdominal gas allows ID of intestinal loops

Front 10

What are the 4 spaces/peritoneum of the peritoneal cavity?

Back 10

1) Intraperitoneal space (b/w parietal and visceral peritoneal layers)
2) Parietal peritoneum
3) Visceral peritoneum
4) Retroperitoneal sapce

Front 11

What is the retroperitoneal space? What does it contain?

Back 11

B/w dorsal margin of parietal peritoneum and abdominal wall
-Contains adrenals, kidneys, ureters, vessels and lymph nodes
-Communicates w mediastinum cranially and pelvic canal caudally

Front 12

What are 4 causes of a loss of abdominal detail?

Back 12

1) Lack of fat (young animals, emaciation)
2) Increased fluid (ascites or hemorrhage)
3) Inflammation-peritonitis (localized or generalized)
4) Neoplasia (may see crowding effect on other organs)

Front 13

What is carcinomatosis?

Back 13

Neoplastic seeding of peritoneum

Front 14

What are 2 ways gas can get into the retroperitoneal space?

Back 14

1) Gas from pneumomediastinum
2) Penetration of abdominal wall

Front 15

If you see effacement of fat with widened soft tissue thickness in the retroperitoneal space what are 4 possible causes?

Back 15

1) Hemorrhage
2) Urine from urinary tract trauma
3) Abscess
4) Neoplasia

Front 16

What are hernias?

Back 16

Tear of body wall

Front 17

What are the signs of free peritoneal fluid?

Back 17

Loss of serosal surface visualization
Rounded abomdinal shape
Floating-gas filled visera

Front 18

How can you distinguish a carinomatosis, steatitis, and chronic peritonitis be distinguished from free peritoneal fluid?

Back 18

Carcinomatosis, steatitis, and chronic peritonitis will have a patchy appearance compared to a consistent density that causes a loss of serosal detail (fluid)

Front 19

What are the radiographic findings of carcinomatosis, steatitis and chronic peritonitis?

Back 19

Loss of serosal detail
Ill defined nodular or granular pattern
Increased abdominal size

Front 20

What does it mean if there's increased serosal detail of the abdomen?

Back 20

Free abdominal gas

Front 21

What are 5 causes of free abdominal gas?

Back 21

1) Surgery
2) Penetrating wound
3) Bowel perforation
4) Negative contrast cystogram w/ iatrogenic rupture
5) Idiopathic

Front 22

What are 2 causes of intra-abdominal calcification?

Back 22

1) Dystrophic calcification of necrotic mesenteric fat (cholesterol granulomas, omental cysts)
-Ocassional in cats, uncommon in dogs
2) Metastatic calcification of abdominal vasculature or gastric mucosa
-Uremia
-Hypothyroidism

Front 23

What are 8 differences in the abdomen of dogs and cats?

Back 23

1) Cat has wide falciform ligament w/ fat
2) Abdominal fat in cats allows superb detail
3) Cat has long intra-pelvic urethra
4) Cat prostate gland not seen
5) Cat kidney more closely aligned on a transverse plane and smaller
6) Cat spleen relatively small and lies along left abdominal wall (tail not seen on lateral view)
7) Cat stomach smaller and pylorus lies just right of or on midline
8) Cats often have little to no GI gas

Front 24

What are the radiographic signs of abdominal disease?

Back 24

Change in:
1) Margination
2) Size
3) Shape
4) Location
5) Opacity
6) Number
(Rontgen signs)

Front 25

Compare the liver of an immature animal and mature animal.

Back 25

Immature animals have a relatively larger liver than adults

Front 26

On a lateral view where is the caudo-ventral margin of the liver located?

Back 26

At or minimally caudal to last costal cartilage
-In barrel chested dog breeds--> caudo-ventral liver margin extends further caudal

Front 27

Why can a feline liver sometimes appear larger on a radiograph then it really is?

Back 27

The falciform fat deposition ventral to the feline liver may give a false impression of liver size

Front 28

What can cause liver size to be obscured?

Back 28

Peritoneal effusion
Emaciation
Immature patient

Front 29

What is the gastric axis?

Back 29

From perpendicular to spine to parallel to costal arch in dogs and cats
-Dependent upon breed, greyhounds tend to have an upright gastric axis

Front 30

What does it mean if the gastric axis is tilting cranially? Caudally?

Back 30

Cranial: liver is too small
Caudal: liver is too large

Front 31

What is displaced and how when there's a right sided hepatic mass?

Back 31

Stomach displaced left
Transverse colon pushed caudally

Front 32

What can mimic a right-sided hepatic mass?

Back 32

Gallbladder enlargement

Front 33

What is displaced and how when there's a left sided hepatic mass?

Back 33

Stomach is displaced to right
Spleen is displaced

Front 34

What are 2 differentials for microhepatica?

Back 34

Congenital portosystemic shunting
Chronic hepatitis w/ cirrhosis

Front 35

What is displaced and how with microhepatica?

Back 35

Gastric body and pylorus and the duodenum are displaced cranially -Right cranial axis with reduced distance b/w stomach and diaphragm

Front 36

What are 4 locations/causes of hepatic mineralization?

Back 36

1) Hepatic parenchymal mineralization
2) Biliary tree mineralization
3) Vascular mineralization
4) Choleliths

Front 37

True or false. Rounded edges and visceral displacement is normal with splenomegaly.

Back 37

False abnormal

Front 38

When is the tail of the spleen normally visible on a radiograph?

Back 38

In the lateral view of dog abdomen but not cat
-Cat spleen lies along left body wall more often than not

Front 39

Where do you normally see the head of the spleen on a canine lateral abdomen radiograph?

Back 39

Dorsal opacity caudal to gastric fundus is head of spleen, liver, and right kidney

Front 40

How can you tell if splenomegaly is from sedation or a disease process?

Back 40

From sedation (normal enlargement) the shape will be normal and smooth

Front 41

What is displaced when there's a splenic mass?

Back 41

Displacement of small intestine cranial, dorsal and caudal

Front 42

What are the signs of splenic torsion?

Back 42

Can see head and tail of spleen on both lateral and VD view (normally just see head on VD)
Appears C shaped on lateral view