Digital X-Rays

X-rays are electromagnetic waves, much like light, only not in the visible spectrum. X-rays can penetrate body tissues and many other things to varying degrees. During an X-ray procedure, electrons go through the patient and are absorbed to varying degrees by the animal. Those that make it all the way through hit a film and provide an image that is like a negative. The more electrons that go through the animal, the darker the image on the film. The fewer electrons pass through, the lighter the image on the film.

When your veterinarian looks at a radiograph (X-ray), he looks for different opacities (shades of dark and light). Air allows the most X-rays through the animal, resulting
in a dark image. Fat is the next opacity, creating a lighter image than air. Lighter still is fluid or soft tissue, then bone. The lightest opacity is metal. It leaves a bright white image on the film. The X-ray film is developed much like photographic film in a processor.

Taking X-rays of an animal is different than for humans. You can ask a human to hold still. Pets are sometimes not as cooperative. When positioning a pet for an X-ray, the animal must usually be sedated to get it to lay still. Proper positioning is especially important when one is taking OFA radiographs to see if a dog has hip dysplasia. Your veterinarian must work quickly to obtain the necessary films, because sedation is short-acting (about 30 minutes).

X-rays can help your veterinarian diagnose problems with your pet. If your veterinarian
feels a lump or mass in your pet's abdomen, an X-ray can help pinpoint what organ the
mass is in, be it the spleen or the stomach. Similarly, if X-rays reveal bunching and irregular gas patterns in the small intestine, your veterinarian can deduce that your pet has eaten string or holiday tinsel if you've also told him or her that the pet is vomiting and going off feed.

We've seen some strange things in stomachs,including scouring pads and a plastic objects. Other conditions that can be observed with X-rays include gastric dilation volvulus (twisted stomach), broken bones, cancer masses, heart problems, or even fungal diseases. X-rays are very low risk for your pet. They are more of a risk for the people who are involved in taking the X-rays of your pet. There are immediate and long-term effects of X-rays.