MRI evaluation of spontaneous intervertebral disc degeneration in the alpaca cervical spine.

Animal models have historically provided an appropriate benchmark for understanding human pathology, treatment, and healing, but few animals are known to naturally develop intervertebral disc degeneration. The study of degenerative disc disease and its treatment would greatly benefit from a more comprehensive, and comparable animal model. Alpacas have recently been presented as a potential large animal model of intervertebral disc degeneration due to similarities in spinal posture, disc size, biomechanical flexibility, and natural disc pathology.

Alternative diagnoses to stone disease on unenhanced CT to investigate acute flank pain.

Acute flank pain is a common problem in emergency medicine. The most frequent cause is urolithiasis, but many other entities can cause the same clinical presentation. In many institutions unenhanced computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen is used in this setting.