Diagnostic imaging of the Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)

Zusammenfassung

The aims of this work are:1. To provide the normal cervical and coelomic radiographic appearance of the Loggerhead sea turtle, in the dorso-ventral view, as well as other useful landmarks, to allow for correlation of shell scutes with internal anatomic structures. 2. To provide the normal radiographic anatomy of the limbs of the Loggerhead sea turtle in combination with data obtained from computed tomography - osteological, gross anatomical and histological data.3. To describe the normal ultrasonographic appearance of cervical structures and coelomic organs of the Loggerhead sea turtle, and to provide the respective images of frozen cross-sections for anatomical reference.4. To provide normal computed tomographic images of the vertebral column and coelomic structures of the Loggerhead sea turtle, by establishing reference standards for organ size and position in this species; to provide images of virtual tracheo-bronchoscopy and 3D reconstructions of the respiratory tract and bone structures.5. To provide the normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearance of coelomic structures of Loggerhead sea turtles in T1 and T2-weighted scans via comparison with cross-sectional anatomic sections of this species.