Abstract
No one can deny the role of radiography in the diagnosis of different affections of the different regions of the animal’s body especially the thoracic cavity and its structures. Therefore, the present study was carried out to compare different radiographic projections on the positional variation, the visibility, and the measurements of different thoracic structures in goats. Moreover, the different angles formed between some of these structures were determined, measured, and their uses were declared. Twelve healthy native-breed goats were assigned for this study. Their ages and weights ranged between 2̵ 4 years and 13̵ 21 kg, respectively. The goats were subjected to a thorax examination using 4 different radiographic projections: right lateral view (RLV), left lateral view (LLV), dorsoventral view (DVV), and ventrodorsal view (VDV). The findings exhibited on both RLV and LLV were compared, and the DVV and VDV were also differentiated. The radiographic examinations included the inspection of the sternum, ribs, thoracic vertebrae, diaphragm, and its crura, and some of the intra-thoracic structures. Cardiac short axis (CSA), cardiac long axis (CLA), vertebral heart score (VHS), and different angles between the different thoracic structures were measured. The results conclusively revealed that there was no significant difference between the RLV and LLV regarding the values of different thoracic structures except for the cranial lobar pulmonary (CLP) arteries and veins, CSA, the ventral wall of caudal vena cava (CVC), and the mean length of CVC. The visibility of the CLP vessels had a more clear presentation on LLV. The RLV clearly identified the CVC, while the LLV enabled a better visualization of the aorta. The measured values obtained from the sternal (DVV) and dorsal (VDV) views were nearly similar, except; the shape of the heart, the heart shifted into left on the VDV and the CVC and aorta were better seen on VDV and DVV, respectively.

Key words: Goats, radiographic projections, measurements, reference values, thoracic structures.