Rethinking Skull Radiography in Veterinary Medicine
It appears that Computed Tomography (CT) is set to replace radiography as veterinarians’ imaging modality of choice for animals’ skulls, particularly for very rare diagnoses of cancer or other diseases in the ear canal and nasal cavity. Radiography is time-consuming, difficult to interpret and rarely results in a definitive diagnosis — often requiring further study. CT is simple to perform, faster — resulting in less time patient spend under anesthesia — and costs less overall because additional studies are not usually necessary.
The quality of CT is far superior. Axial imaging allows for earlier detection of bone and soft tissue changes, and images are more accurate — making it less likely that artifacts created by projections would mimic pathology. When it comes to those rare but deadly nasal and ear cancers, early detection makes all the difference.
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