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Diagnostics

Physical examination can tell us a lot about your pet’s health, but provides little information about your pet’s internal structures. When your pet is sick or injured, we use diagnostic testing to provide a more complete picture to make a diagnosis, monitor progress in chronic disease, assess organ function prior to anesthesia, or screen for genetic or congenital disease.

Digital X-rays We can perform blood and urine testing in our in-house laboratory, which allows a quick bedside diagnosis and better monitoring for hospitalized pets. Test that we commonly run in-house to gain more information about what’s happening inside your pet’s body include:
  • Blood chemistry — This test reveals kidney, liver, and pancreatic function, blood sugar and lipid levels, and electrolyte balance.
  • Complete blood count (CBC) — A CBC counts red and white blood cells and determines their overall ratios, which can point toward infections, stress, cancer, blood loss or blood cell destruction (i.e., anemia), and clotting problems.
Urinalysis — This test can determine urinary tract infection or inflammation and kidney function, or point toward possible bladder stones, high blood pressure, or other systemic disease. Digital X-rays offer not only detailed, crisp images of your pet’s internal structures, but also reduce radiation exposure for pets and our Cedarwood Veterinary & Animal Emergency Hospital employees, compared with traditional film. X-rays are non-invasive and produce images that appear as different shades of gray based on the X-rays’ ability to pass through different tissues. Our team may take X-rays to evaluate your pet’s bones, heart, lungs, bladder, kidneys, or other internal organs, and to diagnose or rule out the following conditions:
  • Gastrointestinal foreign body
  • Heart disease
  • Lung disease or infection
  • Cancer
  • Bladder or kidney stones
  • Arthritis
  • Broken or dislocated bones
 In-house laboratory

Ultrasound

Ultrasound is a noninvasive, safe imaging modality often used alongside X-ray to evaluate soft tissues. The ultrasound machine produces sound waves that reflect back at different rates in different tissues, and offers real-time, moving images rather than a single snapshot. The operator can move the transducer head in different directions, which produces a more three-dimensional image than X-ray. Our hospital uses ultrasound to visualize the bladder and collect urine samples, measure internal organs, look for cysts, tumors, or fluid inside the chest or abdomen, and guide needle placement to collect biopsy samples. In an experienced cardiologist’s hands, ultrasound is also the best tool for evaluating heart function.

Computed Tomography (CT)

Computed tomography (CT or CAT scan) is a radiation-based imaging technique that produces highly detailed views of soft tissue and bone. The scanner rotates around an anesthetized pet’s body, taking 360-degree cross-sectional images, and then uses a computer to combine the images into one three-dimensional picture. CT and MRI produce similar images, but CT uses radiation, while MRI uses magnetic energy. CT scans are much faster than MRI, so pets remain anesthetized for only a few minutes, versus an hour or more with MRI. Also, CT produces better bone images, is useful in imaging body areas not amenable to X-ray or ultrasound (e.g., the head and neck), and can be used for surgical planning.