Abstract
Six adult (three female and three male) leopard tortoises (Testudo pardalis) were studied to document the radiographic anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract and the transit time of barium sulfate. Tortoises were chemically immobilized with succinylcholine and dosed orally with barium contrast suspension. Both dorsoventral and lateral radiographs were taken. The lateral radiographs were extremely difficult to interpret because of the overlapping of the gastrointestinal tract and other soft tissue organs. Complete gastric emptying occurred between 5 and 9 hr after barium administration. Barium entered the small intestine at 0.2-1 hr and the large intestine between 5 and 8 hr. The contrast material began to exit the colon between 144 and 166 hr.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 180-186 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 2 |
State | Published - Jun 1996 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Anatomy
- Barium contrast study
- Gastrointestinal tract
- Leopard tortoise
- Testudo pardalis
- Transit time
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Animal Science and Zoology
- General Veterinary