Thoracic radiographic anatomy in goats

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the normal radiographic anatomy of the thorax of small East African goats as a reference for clinical use. Radiography of the thorax was performed under general anaesthesia in 10 healthy small East African goats. Right lateral (RL), left lateral (LL), dorsoventral (DV) and ventrodorsal (VD) views of the thorax were obtained at the end of inspiration. Reference ranges were established and ratios were calculated. The number of thoracic vertebrae ranged from 12 (1/10) to 13 (9/10). The mean number of sternebrae was 4.8 ± 0.42. The cardiac silhouette was rounded (7/10) and angular shaped (8/10) on the DV and VD views, respectively. The mean vertebral heart score (VHS) on the RL view (10.02 ± 0.33) was significantly (P < 0.0001) larger than that of the DV view (8.21 ± 0.49). The trachea was narrow and the mean ratio of the trachea diameter (TD) to thoracic inlet distance (TID) was 0.11 ± 0.02. On lateral views, the caudal vena cava (CVC) was frequently (9/10) clearly visible. The aorta was not clearly visible on lateral views. The mean ratio of the CVC diameter to the height of the fourth thoracic vertebral body (T4) was 1.08 ± 0.07. Speciesspecific differences exist in the normal radiographic anatomy of the thorax. Knowledge of the normal thoracic radiographic anatomy of small East African goats should prove useful in the diagnosis of thoracic diseases.

Keywords: thorax, radiography, anatomy, goat, small East African goat