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The Benefits and Limits of X-Rays for Pets

x-rays, limitations of x-rays, benefits of x-rays, veterinary imaging, veterinary x-rays, veterinary radiologist, Animal Emergency & Referral Center of Minnesota

We want the best possible care for our pets, but they can’t always verbally tell us what’s going on. This is why imaging has proven to be invaluable when diagnosing and understanding our pet’s health issues. One of the most common types of imaging in veterinary medicine is radiographs – also known as x-rays. While x-rays are often needed, it’s important for pet parents to understand not only the benefits of x-rays, but also the limitations of x-rays in veterinary medicine and how results can be used to aid in the overall well-being of your beloved pet.

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Abdomen x-ray in a young vomiting dog. The stomach is mild to moderately filled with gas (arrow), small intestines mildly filled with gas and fluid (curved arrow), and feces in the colon are less formed than normal (dotted arrow). These findings are suggestive of non-specific inflammation of the intestinal tract.

Benefits of X-rays 

  • Accurate Diagnosis  
    • X-rays allow veterinarians to see inside your pet’s body without invasive procedures. X-rays are especially useful for diagnosing conditions such as fractures, tumors, foreign objects, and changes in organ size, position, or density. They provide valuable information that helps veterinarians decide on an effective treatment plan.  
  • Rapid Results 
    •  X-ray images are obtained quickly by your family veterinary clinic, emergency clinic, or specialty hospital and provide immediate images that can be viewed by your veterinarian as well as sent to a board-certified veterinary radiologist for viewing and reporting.  
  • Non-invasive 
    • X-rays are often taken in awake patients, but sedation can also be provided to allow pets to be calmer and more comfortable. 
  • Monitoring Progress 
    • X-rays are often used to monitor the progress of a pet’s condition and treatments. Examples include evaluating the chest for spread of cancer to the lungs, pneumonia, and bone healing after fractures.  
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Chest x-ray in a young adult dog with sudden breathing difficulty. There is free gas in the pleural space (space around the lungs), highlighted by arrows. This results in compression of the lungs and pushes the heart up on the x-ray. Sometimes this can be treated medically by removing the free gas, but continuous or severe air leaks require surgery to remove the leaking portion of the lung.

Limitations of X-rays 

  • Shadows
    • X-rays are comprised by taking your pets anatomy and compressing it into shadows on an x-ray image. Bones often show up clearly on an x-ray, but soft tissue organs (such as the liver, spleen, or kidneys) may blend together due to their similar densities and the way they overlap on the imagesometimes making it difficult to identify abnormalities 
  • Lack of Function Information
    • X-rays take a snapshot in time and do not show movement of structures (such as mobile fractures) or function of the intestines. We can sometimes work around this by repeating an x-ray study within a short period of time to compare.  
  • Some Patients Require Different Diagnostic Tools  
    • Some pets require more advanced imaging types such as CT, MRI, and ultrasound. These modalities each have their own benefits but generally provide more specific details of internal anatomy.  
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Front limb fracture (radius and ulna) in an adult dog following unknown trauma (arrow), with surrounding soft tissue swelling (dotted arrow).

Overall, x-rays are a commonly available and useful tool to assist veterinary teams in figuring out why a pet is ill. X-rays have their limitations (which you can discuss more specifically with your veterinarian,) but their benefits often far outweigh their limitations.   

If you have any questions or concerns about needing x-rays or other imaging for your pet, talk to your family veterinarian. In some cases, they may choose to refer your pet to our Imaging Service. We offer xray, CT, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging,) and ultrasound technology. Our board-certified veterinary radiologists help interpret imaging findings to provide results that pet parents can trust.  

Jon Nevins, DVM, DACVR

Animal Emergency & Referral Center of Minnesota, Fast Track Triage, color-coded triage system, pet emergency, Twin Cities emergency vet, Minnesota emergency vet, Saint Paul emergency vet, Oakdale emergency vet

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