Radiographic Anatomy and Barium Sulfate Transit Time of the Gastrointestinal Tract of the Leopard Tortoise (Testudo pardalis)

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 suspen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine 1996-06, Vol.27 (2), p.180-186
Main Authors: Taylor, Sharon K., Citino, Scott B., Zdziarski, Jacqueline M., Bush, R. Mitchell
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomy
Barium
Gastrointestinal tract
Human resources
Large intestine
Small intestine
Stomach
Sulfates
Tortoises
Zoos
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Summary: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 becuase 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.
ISSN:1042-7260
1937-2825