164196 20260224145116.0 doi 10.3390/vetsci12111070 sideral 146342 ART-2025-146342 eng Castells, Enrique Use of Computed Tomography in the Clinical Diagnosis of Lower Respiratory Tract Diseases in Sheep 2025 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Lower airway diseases are a major health concern in sheep, often presenting with overlapping clinical signs that hinder accurate diagnosis. This study evaluated the diagnostic value of computed tomography (CT) in 58 adult sheep examined in northeastern Spain between 2017 and 2024. All animals underwent full clinical examination, CT under general anaesthesia, and post-mortem investigation. CT identified 82 pulmonary lesions, including interstitial pneumonia, respiratory complex, gangrenous pneumonia, caseous lymphadenitis, parasitic pneumonia, pulmonary adenocarcinoma, and pulmonary hydatidosis. Tissue density measurements provided additional information regarding disease stage and severity. The level of agreement between CT findings and definitive diagnoses consistently exceeded that of clinical evaluation, reaching almost perfect concordance for several conditions. Moreover, CT revealed concomitant respiratory pathologies within the same animal, many of which were not detected by conventional diagnostic methods. Although thorough individual clinical examination remains essential for the correct interpretation of imaging findings and the accurate diagnosis of respiratory disorders in the field, these results demonstrate that CT provides superior diagnostic accuracy compared with standard approaches and yields valuable insights for both clinical practice and research. Despite its practical limitations, CT could represent a major advance in improving health, welfare, and productivity in sheep farming. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/AR15-23R info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Quílez, Pablo Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0009-0003-9757-3840 Lacasta, Delia Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-7822-6646 Ortín, Aurora Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-0313-5926 Villanueva-Saz, Sergio Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-6209-4282 Climent, María Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-0606-0763 Luján, Lluís Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-2053-9842 Guallar, David Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-9698-3029 Hedman, Carlos Alfonso Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-0827-110X Ruiz, Héctor Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-8474-2831 Ruiz de Arcaute Rivero, Marta Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-7655-2472 1001 025 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Anatom.,Embri.Genét.Ani. Área Anatom.Anatom.Patológ.Com 1009 773 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Patología Animal Área Sanidad Animal 1013 090 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Cirugía Área Cirugía 1009 617 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Patología Animal Área Medicina y Cirugía Animal 12, 11 (2025), 1070 [19 pp.] Veterinary Sciences 2306-7381 4830252 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/164196/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2621453 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/164196/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:164196 articulos driver 2026-02-24-14:50:10 ARTICLE