Thoracic Radiographs

Question 1

what can radiographs tell you?

Answer 1

cardiomegaly
vessel size
pulmonary infiltrates
pleural space disease
thoracic wall structures
static image of trachea

Question 2

which lateral view is more important for cardiac cases?

Answer 2

right

Question 3

how can you tell if the heart is big?

Answer 3

eyeball it
number of interspaces
proportion of chest width on DV view
vertebral heart size

Question 4

what should be the width of a dog heart on the lateral view in intercostal spaces?

Answer 4

2.5 for deep chest
3.5 for barrel chest

Question 5

what should be the width of a cat heart on the lateral view in intercostal spaces?

Answer 5

2 to 2.5

Question 6

what should the vertebral heart size be in a dog?

Answer 6

<10.5 v
range 8.7-10.7 v

Question 7

what is the average vertebral heart size for cats?

Answer 7

7.5 v

Question 8

when does the left atrium get large in dogs?

Answer 8

with mitral regurgitation

Question 9

where do you measure for a vertebral left atrial size?

Answer 9

bottom of carina to the top aspect of the caudal cava

Question 10

what is normal vertebral left atrial size?

Answer 10

1.8 to 2.3 v

Question 11

what do small arteries and veins mean?

Answer 11

hypovolemia
congenital left to right shunt

Question 12

what can large pulmonary arteries mean?

Answer 12

pulmonary hypertension
heartworm
pulmonary embolism

Question 13

what does a caudal vena cava/aorta ratio of >1.5 suggest?

Answer 13

right-sided heart disease

Question 14

what are the structures of pulmonary interest?

Answer 14

pulmonary parenchyma
trachea
ribs
diaphragm
lymph nodes

Question 15

what can cause an interstitial pattern?

Answer 15

aging change in dogs
earliest sign of CHF
fluid overload
interstitial lung disease
pulmonary contusion
metastatic disease

Question 16

what can cause a bronchial pattern?

Answer 16

feline asthma
feline heartworm or feline HARDS
lung parasites
canine chronic bronchitis
eosinophilic lung disease
early bronchopneumonia
large breed dogs with CHF

Question 17

what can cause an alveolar pattern?

Answer 17

pneumonia
pulmonary contusion
non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema
cardiogenic pulmonary edema
severe inflammatory lung disease

Question 18

what can cause a vascular pattern?

Answer 18

left to right shunting congenital defects
chronic CHF in cats
fluid overload

Question 19

what can happen with the trachea?

Answer 19

position: kinking or kinking/deviation due to mass
tracheal collapse
mainstem collapse from left atrial enlargement

Question 20

how can you recognize pleural effusion?

Answer 20

obscures cardiac silhouette
pleural fissure lines become visible
hard to see edges of the heart
lung structures collapsed: hard to evaluate lung patterns

Question 21

how can you recognize pericardial effusion?

Answer 21

generalized cardiomegaly, globoid
sharp edges to cardiac silhouette
enlarged caudal vena cava
variable vessel findings
some pleural effusion common
search for pulmonary metastatic disease

Question 22

what percentage of the chest on the DV view should be heart?

Answer 22

60%

Question 23

what is vertebral left atrial size meant to capture?

Answer 23

better capture left atrial enlargement than standard vertebral heart size

Question 24

what is vertebral left atrial size a criteria for?

Answer 24

when drugs started in dogs with mitral regurgitation

Question 25

a vertebral left atrial size of __________ has a high likelihood of CHF

Answer 25

> =3.0v

Question 26

what can cause large pulmonary arteries?

Answer 26

pulmonary hypertension

Question 27

what do large veins mean?

Answer 27

left sided CHF or increased left heart filling pressure

Question 28

how can you recognize hypovolemia?

Answer 28

small vessels
small hart
dark lung fields
heart picked up from sternum

Question 29

where is noncardiogenic pulmonary edema typically?

Answer 29

caudodorsal distribution

Question 30

where is cardiogenic pulmonary edema typically?

Answer 30

perihilar and caudodorsal

Question 31

what can cause left-to-right shunting?

Answer 31

patent ductus arteriosus
ventricular septal defect
atrial septal defect