Examination of morphometry of feline thoracic aorta with computed tomography

Abstract

This research was performed to specify the morphometry of the adult feline thoracic aorta (AoT) and to obtain reference data for this slice of aorta using computed tomography (CT) as a sensitive indicator for surgical operations and pathological diagnosis in developing veterinary medicine. CT images of the thorax area were used in the study, in which 23 adult short-haired cats (11 male and 12 female) were enrolled. All of the cats were anesthetized with a combination of tiletamine and zolazepam, and then Omnipaque (TM) was applied. Fifteen transverse slice images of the body of thoracic vertebrae were taken, located between Th6 and Th13 and the area between the vertebrae of cats. Aft er determining the dorsoventral diameter (DVD) and transversal diameter (TD) of these slices, the cross-sectional area (CsA) and total volume of the AoT were determined using the dotted area measuring technique, which is the basis of the Cavalieri principle. It was found that DVD and TD had closer values for male and female cats, and CsA was found to be higher for females, but no significant statistical difference was found. Although AoT volume was measured according to the Cavalieri principle and was found higher in males than in female cats, there was no statistical difference based on sex. When univariate analysis was used, it was revealed that sex was not an important factor in determining the dimensions of the AoT. It was found that the shape of the AoT was not different between sexes, and the general shape was dorsoventral elliptic.