CHAPTER XVIII. 



VALUE OF THE ROENTGEN RAYS IN DIAGNOSIS. 



The Application of the Roentgen Rays. — In cases where 

 diagnosis of fracture or location of suspected foreign body 

 is difficult, the Roentgen Rays can be utilised in canine and 

 feline practice with almost as great a success as in human 

 surgery.^ 



The main difficulties in the way are the expense and the 

 securing of the patient in order to ensure steadiness. The 

 former is comparatively small when the use of the " X " Ray 

 apparatus can be obtained on the spot, and in most large towns 

 the human hospitals have a complete outfit, or there are private 

 firms who will make the radiogram for a fee. The latter is 

 easily got over by the aid of the operating table (Fig. 7) or 

 hobbles (Fig. 9), or, in very troublesome patients, by the 

 administration of a general anaesthetic. 



Many parts of the body, such as the bones of the limbs 

 or tail, can be skiagraphed in quiet patients without the appli- 

 cation of any restraint, the owner merely holding the patient 

 in position, as the time taken over the process is merely 

 a matter of seconds. Frequently, instead of taking a skia- 

 graph, a fluorescent screen may be used, and the damage 

 ascertained in that way in a few moments. 



A description of the apparatus is scarcely necessary here, 



i "Journal of Comparative Pathology and Therapeutics," Vol. IX., p. 58; " Veterin- 

 arian, " September 1896. 



