Radiographic Detection of Defects of the Nasal Boundaries

Abstract

The sensitivity of conventional radiography for lesions of the cribriform plate, naso-orbital wall, lateral nasal wall and hard palate was investigated in 13 canine cadaver heads by creating measured defects in these structures. The location of the perforations were marked with a thin copper wire and the radiographic appearance of the defects was evaluated retrospectively by a single reviewer. Despite demarcation cribriform plate destruction of 2 mm could not be detected. Defects of 3 mm were detected in only 2 heads, 4 mm defects in 1 further head, an oblong 4 x 10 mm defect in 7 heads and in the remaining 3 heads only a 10 x 10 mm defect became visible as such. The naso-orbital wall had to be destroyed in its whole vertical length for detection of a defect in ventrodorsal or dorsoventral views. Therefore conventional radiography is of low diagnostic value for these lesions. Defects of 2 mm in the lateral nasal wall and the hard palate could be detected confidently in all heads indicating high sensitivity of conventional radiography. Soft tissue opacification did not alter the detectability of any nasal border structure lesion.

Comparison of radiography and magnetic resonance imaging for evaluating the extent of nasal neoplasia in dogs

“…Fairly large defects in the cribriform plate must be present before they can be detected radiographically, confirming that conventional radiography has a low diagnostic value for evaluation of cerebral involvement of aggressive nasal disease (Schwarz and others 2000). Undoubtedly, involvement of the brain is a very important prognostic factor in terms of possible further clinical signs, and detection of this is essential when considering treatment options.…”

An investigation into the usefulness of a rostrocaudal nasal radiographic view in the dog

“…In a study of the radiographic anatomy of the cribriform plate 9 the RCd nasal view was unfortunately not used. The same authors in another study determined the radiographic visibility of nasal boundary defects using a variety of different views in 13 cadaver specimens divided into 3 groups 10 . Defects of the cribriform plate were deemed to be not visible in the RCd nasal view but this view was only performed in 1 dog of each group.…”

Evaluation of the ventro 20° rostral‐dorsocaudal oblique radiographic projection for the investigation of canine nasal disease

“…The ventro 20° rostral‐dorsocaudal oblique (V20R‐DCdO) projection of the nasal cavity (open mouth VD) reduces superimposition of the mandible without requiring the placement of film in the oral cavity thereby allowing clearer visualisation of the caudal aspect of the nasal cavity and of the cribriform plate (Schwarz et al ). The open mouth VD view has been evaluated with good results in canine cadavers (Schwarz et al , ) but to the authors’ knowledge this projection has not been assessed in live dogs.…”