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Giant African land snails (GALS) have become increasingly popular, for example, as pets or in kindergartens in Europe, but little is known about their clinically relevant anatomy, diseases, or further details in diagnostic imaging. The present study focuses on the techniques and image interpretation of radiography, computed tomography, and sonography in GALS. The aim of the study is to find the most appropriate imaging tool to visualize the various organs within the mantle cavity (also known as visceral mass) in GALS. The detailed anatomy of GALS is presented with numerous figures of the different imaging techniques. The sensory organs and nervous system will not be part of the present study.

The avian spleen is an important immune organ in birds and its size can be used as an index of immune system responses in different conditions. Based on the lack of knowledge in computed tomography of the spleen in chickens, the present study was conducted to assess the inter-and intraobserver reliability in the measurement of the spleen dimensions and attenuation, as well as the feasibility of utilization of these measurements as a predictor of different diseases. For these purposes, the spleens of 47 chickens were included in the study. Two observers measured the dimensions and attenuations of the spleen, which were finally compared with the clinical diagnosis. The results showed an excellent interobserver reliability in the length, width, and height of the spleen (ICC: 0.944, 0.906, and 0.938, retrospectively), and a good interobserver reliability was observed during the evaluation of the average Hounsfield units of the spleen (ICC: 0.818). The intraobserver reliability was excellent in all the measurements (ICC > 0.940). Additionally, no statistical differences were detected in the spleen size and attenuation between the normal and diseased groups. Based on the present results, the computed tomographic measurements of the spleen could not predict the clinical diseases of the chickens; however, the low rates of the inter- and intraobserver variability suggest the reliable utilization of these computed tomographic measurements in routine clinical application and follow-up examinations.

Giant African Land Snails like Lissachatina fulica have become increasingly popular as pets in Europe, but little is known yet about land snail diseases and their therapy. These case reports show the history of four adult Lissachatina fulica with apathy and esophagus protrusion or prolapse in three cases and edema and mantle collapse in another case. Renomegaly and/or kidney deposits could be demonstrated in radiographic and/or CT examinations in all four cases. Necropsy and histology revealing nephropathy could be performed in three cases. With these first case reports on land snails with kidney disease, we hope to encourage diagnostic imaging and further veterinary research in land snails to improve our knowledge about their diseases.

Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a common orthopedic disease. Owing to the importance of CHD in affected dogs, both clinically and for their use in breeding or work, increasing attention is being given to early diagnosis. Therefore, early clinical and radiological examination of young animals is increasingly in demand, whereas common CHD screening according to the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) is usually performed at the age of 12 months or even older in Europe. One way to objectively evaluate gait pattern is to measure the ground reaction forces (GRFs) and center of pressure (COP). In this study, we used a pressure plate to evaluate the GRF and COP parameters for 32 Labrador Retrievers and 17 Golden Retrievers at 4, 8, and 12 months of age. The dogs also underwent radiological examination of the hip joints following the FCI rules at the age of at least 12 months, which were grouped as sound (FCI grade A or B) and diseased (FCI grade C or worse). The results revealed significantly higher COP values in both breeds in the diseased limb groups at any measurement point during walking, with the most pronounced results obtained at 8 months of age. Furthermore, COP values during walking were significantly higher at 4 months than at 8 and 12 months in both the sound and diseased limb groups, indicating an increased stability of the gait pattern. Except for COP-Speed, the values of all COP parameters were higher during walking than during trotting at 4 months of age (i.e., COP-Speed was higher when trotting), indicating that the 4-beat gait in walk is more difficult to control for puppies than the 2-beat gait in trot. Overall, our results support the early evaluation of CHD in growing animals using non-invasive methods.