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When to use a CT scan and when to use an MRI?

CT and MRI are excellent techniques for a wide range of indications, and we want to make them available to as many veterinarians and their patients as possible. Therefore, our general approach is to perform the examination for you, after which you will take charge of the treatment yourself. The animals you refer to us will thus be examined and referred back entirely in accordance with your wishes.

The table below shows when a CT scan or an MRI is indicated.

CT

MRI

Skeleton

(Lameness)

+++

Fractures and Tumors
Corpora libera joints
LPC/LPA/OCD

+(+)

Bone edema
Microfractures
Tumors

Tendons and Muscles

(Lameness)

+

Changes in symmetry
and size (e.g., tumors)

++

Edema in muscles/tendons
Tumors, tears of
muscles, tendons, and ligaments

Nose and Sinuses

(Chronic nasal discharge)

+++

Rhinitis, fungi, foreign bodies, tumors

+++

Rhinitis, fungi, foreign bodies, tumors

Brain

(Tetraparesis/tetraplegia, hemiparesis/hemiplegia, behavioral changes, epilepsy)

++

Acute cerebral hemorrhage, (large) tumors, head trauma

+++

Cerebral edema; tumors, encephalitis, meningitis, hematoma, infarction, Chiari malformation/syringomyelia

Ear canals and bullae

(Deafness, balance disorders)

++

Polyp, tumor, otitis media

+++

Polyp, tumor,
otitis media/PSOM

Jaws/oral cavity

(Swelling, pain)

+++

Tumor in the gums and oral cavity, fractures, dental problems, tumor spreading to the jaw/nose

+++

Tumor in the gums and oral cavity, fractures, dental problems, tumor spreading to the jaw/nose

Retrobulbar region

(Bulging eye)

++

Tumors/abscesses behind the eye

+++

Tumors/abscesses behind the eye

Neck and Back

(Pain, paresis/paralysis)

++

Extradural problems (HNP), fractures, tumors, discospondylitis

+++

Extradural and intramedullary conditions,
syringomyelia

Thorax

(Breathing problems)

+++

Metastases in the lungs and mediastinum, hydrothorax and chylothorax, lobe torsion

–

Too many motion artifacts

Abdomen

(Stomach problems)

+++

Liver problems, liver metastases, tumors, kidney and urinary tract abnormalities, ectopic ureters, shunts, adrenal tumors, prostate problems, conditions that are difficult to visualize on ultrasound

+

Retroperitoneal problems, kidney problems, tumors in the prostate and pelvic cavity