died of various causes. Figure 1 shows the rel- 

 atively smooth mucosa of the stomach which has 

 been distended with barium. The smooth lon- 

 gitudinal folds of the proximal small bowel are 

 also easily identified. Also in Figure 1 just to the 

 left of the tracheal air shadow (3) and superim- 

 posed over the cervical vertebrae, a few 

 esophageal papillae are faintly outlined by small 

 amounts of barium. Incidently, injection of con- 

 trast directly into the esophagus demonstrated the 

 esophageal papillae and the narrowing in the re- 

 gion of the gastroesophageal junction with greater 

 clarity than in Figure 1. The size and position of 

 the GI structures were also easily assessed. Con- 

 tinued filming over several days demonstrated 

 slow progression of the barium sulfate suspension 

 through the small intestine into the colon. In the 

 colon residual fecal contents mixed with the 

 barium and obscured the mucosal detail some- 

 what. Transit time was noted to be at least 4 or 5 d 

 from the stomach to the proximal colon in all four 

 animals studied. 



Discussion 



The radiologic examination of the upper GI tract 

 of marine turtles by using barium sulfate as a 

 contrast material provides a potential tool in the 

 evaluation of various diseases in turtle popula- 

 tions. The radiographic information from these 

 studies should aid in evaluating turtles for partial 

 or complete small bowel obstruction, with as- 

 sociated changes in motility and bowel size, and 

 foreign bodies within the intestinal tract such as 

 parasites or bezoars. Diseases altering the 

 mucosal pattern such as ulceration, gastritis, en- 

 teritis, or colitis caused by various infectious or 

 inflammatory processes could be demonstrated. 

 The disease states listed above are frequently 

 demonstrated by similar GI studies performed in 

 humans (Paul and Juhl 1972). 



The use of succinylcholine chloride in these 

 animals should be approached with caution. The 

 total dose should be divided and given incremen- 

 tally over 3-5 min until the desired effect is ob- 

 tained. The use of a well lubricated plastic hollow 

 guide is recommended prior to the decision to use a 

 paralytic agent. 



Radiation exposure was of concern but the cal- 

 culated doses of 0.98 and 0.14 Roentgen/exposure 

 for industrial and par speed medical film were well 

 below the harmful radiation dose in several 

 species of turtles found by Altland et al. (1951) and 



Cosgrove (1971). They resemble dosage levels used 

 by Gibbons and Greene (1979), which produced no 

 apparent harm to the freshwater turtles in their 

 study. To reduce radiation exposure during the 

 examination the use of par speed medical film 

 which requires a lower radiation dose is recom- 

 mended when the clinical situation permits. For 

 instance, intestinal obstruction would require 

 only par speed medical film technique, as dem- 

 onstration of mucosal detail would be unneces- 

 sary when assessment of dilatation of the bowel, 

 stasis of contents, and site of the obstructing pro- 

 cess would be primary concerns. In examinations 

 where mucosal detail is desirable such as detec- 

 tion of small ulcerations, industrial film and its 

 attendant higher exposures may become neces- 

 sary. 



Acknowledgments 



We appreciate the help, encouragement, and 

 support of M. H. Schreiber, Chairman, Depart- 

 ment of Radiology, University of Texas Medical 

 Branch, (UTMB), as well as his comments on 

 preparation of this paper; to Robert Perry, health 

 physicist. Department of Radiology, UTMB, for his 

 assistance in taking and calculating the radiation 

 doses; and to Peggy Seibel, residents' secretary, 

 UTMB, for typing the manuscript. 



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