Yumi Song

Imaging characteristics of persistent left cranial vena cava incidentally diagnosed with computed tomography in dogs

Persistent left cranial vena cava (PLCVC) is an uncommon congenital thoracic venous anomaly in dogs. This study examines the clinical and CT findings of dogs diagnosed with PLCVC incidentally. In this study, complete type of PLCVC was diagnosed in 26 dogs with CT angiography. Shih tzu (17 cases) and Pekingese dogs (3 cases) were overrepresented. There was no gender predisposition, and the average age at presentation was 10.3 years. Of 26 dogs, one dog had a bridging vein connecting right and left cranial vena cavae, and another dog showed azygos vein terminating PLCVC. On the thoracic CT images in the third dog, the right cranial vena cava was absent so that right brachiocephalic vein ended to PLCVC. However, the right costocervical vein drained another vein coursing caudally to the right atrium with azygos vein. In conclusion, CT angiography is a very useful method to diagnose PLCVC and variations of related thoracic vein anomalies in dogs.

Multi-voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy of cerebral metabolites in healthy dogs at 1.5 Tesla

This study was conducted to measure the difference in levels of cerebral metabolites in the right and left hemispheres, gray (GM) and white matter (WM), imaging planes, and anatomical regions of healthy dogs to establish normal variations. Eight male Beagle dogs (1 to 4 years of age; mean age, 2 years) with no evidence of neurologic disease were studied. Using the multi-voxel technique on a 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner, metabolite values (N-acetyl aspartate [NAA], choline [Cho], creatine [Cr]) were obtained from the frontoparietal WM, parietal GM, temporal GM, occipital GM, thalamus, cerebellum, mid-brain, and pons. There was no significant difference in levels of these metabolites between the right and left in any locations or between the GM and WM in the cerebral hemispheres. However, there were significant differences in metabolite ratios within imaging planes. The NAA/Cr was lower in the cerebellum than other regions and the thalamus had a higher Cho/Cr and lower NAA/Cho ratio than in other regions. The spectral and metabolic values will provide a useful internal reference for clinical practice and research involving multi-voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Measurement of metabolite values in the transverse plane is recommended for comparing levels of regional metabolites.