Last week, zoological medicine resident Dr. Justin Schlanser organized MRI and CT imaging of two sulcata tortoises from Potter Park Zoo. Unlike most animals that find themselves in CT and MRI, the tortoises were both healthy. So healthy, in fact, that Schlanser, along with Radiology Service members Dr. Anthony Pease and Rex Miller, are documenting their anatomy to be used as a baseline standard for better assessing diseases in pets and zoo specimens.

“Once complete, we hope to have a detailed set of data related to the size and anatomic placement of the normal organs on these tortoises, which will then serve as a future reference for other clinicians,” Schlanser said.

As sulcata tortoises are a good representation of general tortoise species across the taxa, Schlaser’s research has many potential applications.

May 8, 2013