Radiography
Radiography is an advanced diagnostic technique.
Radiography can be very useful as part of a diagnostic work- up in ill tigers. Radiography of the lower limbs can be performed by most x ray units, but a high powered unit will be required to radiograph the chest, abdomen and proximal limb joints. Despite the use of high powered x-ray units for large fully grown tigers radiographic films of the chest and abdomen get harder to interpret as the final image quality starts to degrade. The use of a radiographic grid can limit this degradation.
Radiographic positions used should be the same as those used for domestic dogs and cats. When radiographing tigers’ limbs it is good practice to also radiograph the same joint/ area on the contralateral leg for comparison.