March 2015

Radiograph Use in Veterinary Medicine

When your furry family members get sick, your veterinarian may recommend a radiograph or x-ray to help diagnose the cause of your pets’ illness.

What do these x-rays really tell your veterinarian?  How can they help diagnose potential problems in your pet?

Radiographs help us in many ways.  They help diagnose broken bones, may show possible foreign bodies, bladder stones, masses, abnormalities of heart and lungs and so much more.  This can help pet owners see what is happening inside their animals and help them understand why certain treatment courses are then recommended.

Sometimes radiographs may show us nothing abnormal. This may be frustrating to some pet owners who feel that a test they have paid for has shown them nothing

and, therefore, might not have been necessary.  What veterinarians and other health professionals realize, is that normal x-rays are just as helpful as x-rays that show us disease.  They help us rule in or rule out what the potential problem may be, so we can move forward and make better decisions about what the next diagnostic or treatment step should be.

Now it is your turn to give it a try:

Look at these x-rays and guess how they helped the veterinarian make the correct diagnosis.

Authors: Angela Hick-Ewing RAHT and Dr Birgit Wunsch DVM