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Mesenteric volvulus

  • X-ray
  • Dog
  • Abdomen
  • Small intestine
  • Finding

Findings are Pro only. Every normal study is free; Pro opens each finding beside its normal.

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What to look for

  • Loops of small intestine, dilated and full of gas, lying parallel and filling the whole abdomen
  • They have lost their tone: the gut no longer moves
  • The intestine twisted on its mesentery; rare, mostly in large breeds such as this German shepherd, and an emergency

Against the normal

Read serosal detail first: fat lets you see the organs' edges, and losing it means fluid, no fat, or a crowd. Then size and place each organ against the vertebrae and the last rib, and follow the gas through the gut.

See the small intestine in 3DPractise reading films

Source: Kalumet, “Volvulus mesenterialis Röntgen”, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0. For learning: not a diagnostic service.

Read the film, then see the anatomy in 3D.

Vetomica puts every abdomen structure on this x-ray in a complete 3D dog you can peel, cut and X-ray from any angle, with every imaging finding beside its normal and practice at reading films.

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The 3D animals are free for 7 days, no card. Imaging findings are Pro; every normal study stays free.

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