Abdominal Imaging

Question 1

5 radiographic densities

Answer 1

Radiolucent (blackest) → radiopaque (whitest)
Air → fat → fluid → bone → metal

Question 2

Lateral projection

Answer 2

Position animal on the right side
Take film on expiration
Center beam @ cd. tip of last rib
Light @ hip joints cr. to the xyphoid

Question 3

Ventraldorsal position

Answer 3

Diaphragm to cranial ilium
Do cr. and cd. films (cr. center beam 2-3 ribs higher, cd. 4-6 inches cd to ribs)

Question 4

Standard/ routine views

Answer 4

Dorsoventral, Ventrodorsal, right lateral recumbency , left lateral recumbency

Question 5

Dog v. cat abdomen

Answer 5

Kidneys more difficult in dogs
Tail of spleen seen in ventral mid abdomen in dogs and not seen in cats
Sub- lumbar muscles are more prominent in cats
Lumbar vertebrae more rectangular in cats

Question 6

Which structures are seen in the retroperitoneal space?

Answer 6

Kidneys, adrenals, ureter
LNs, and blood vessels

Question 7

Which structures are seen in the peritoneal cavity?

Answer 7

Liver, stomach, pancreas, spleen, SI/LI, urinary bladder, prostate, ovaries and uterus, LNs

Question 8

Gastric axis

Answer 8

Good indicator of liver size
Perpendicular to spine, parallel with plane of ribs

Question 9

Normal stomach

Answer 9

Dog: fundus dorsal on lateral and left on VD, body on midline, pylorus on right
Cat: Fundus and body on left abdomen and pylorus on midline

Question 10

Hepatomegaly

Answer 10

Caudal shift to sotmach axis

Question 11

Microhepatica

Answer 11

Cranial shift to stomach axis

Question 12

Gas in normal stomach

Answer 12

Gas rises, fluid falls
RLR and DV: fluid in pylorus and gas in fundus
LLR and VD: gas in pyrlous and fluid in fundus

Question 13

Normal duodenum

Answer 13

Cr. flexure from pylorus
Descending along right lateral abdominal wall
Cd/ flexure @ L6
Ascending (pancreas medial to duodenal flexure)

Question 14

Normal Jejunum

Answer 14

Mid abdominal, moveable due to mesentery

Question 15

Normal Ileum

Answer 15

Empties into ascending colon @ ileocolic orifice
No differentiated from jejunum on film

Question 16

Normal Small Intestine in a dog

Answer 16

Shouldn’t exceed 2.5-3 x width of rib
Shouldn’t exceed 1.5x central height of lumbar vertebra (L5)

Question 17

Normal small intestine in a cat

Answer 17

Shouldn’t exceed twice the height of central pt. of L4
Shouldn’t exceed 12 mm

Question 18

Normal Cecum

Answer 18

Right of midline, mid-dorsal central abdomen (L2-L3), cecocolic junction

Question 19

Normal cecum in a dog and cat

Answer 19

Dog: S shaped, corkscrew, compartmentalized, gas filled
Cat: Usually not visualized (short and comma)

Question 20

Normal colon

Answer 20

Often contains feces and gas
<1.5x lenth of L7
VD: question mark shape
LLR: straight horizontal line or sloping caudodorsally from stomach to pelvic inlet

Question 21

Normal feline adomen

Answer 21

Renal size 2-2.5 x L2 on VD view
Wider than dog kidneys (plump)
Retroperitoneal fat allows visualization of kidneys

Question 22

Normal K9 abdomen

Answer 22

Renal size 2.5-3.5x L2 on VD view, bean shaped
RK more cr. than LK in VD and RLR

Question 23

Normal urinary bladder

Answer 23

Tear drop shape superimposed by colon especially in dog

Question 24

Normal prostate

Answer 24

Soft tissue opacity cranial to the brim of the pelvis
Triangle of fat between neck or bladder and prostate