Mumbai radiologist discovers snake has broken back

Nicholas Leider | | Radiology Business | Practice Management
snake-istock

What does one do with snake with a broken back? Send it to your local imaging professional for an MRI, of course.

That's what happened in a suburb of Mumbai when a rescuer brought bamboo pit viper to the hospital after a frightened local had smacked it with a stick. An x-ray didn’t offer any definitive answers, so the venomous snake then underwent an MRI.

“Of course, a snake being brought in for a scan is very unusual as we deal mainly with human patients,” Ravi Thapar said. “In fact, I had to do a bit of research about a serpent’s anatomy for that.”

The scan showed damage to the spine, swelling and a large contusion.

Read more about the extensive measures the medical team undertook to help this unfortunate snake at the link below.

Why Mumbai docs put this viper through an MRI scan

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Nicholas Leider, Managing Editor

Nicholas joined TriMed in 2016 as the managing editor of the Chicago office. After receiving his master’s from Roosevelt University, he worked in various writing/editing roles for magazines ranging in topic from billiards to metallurgy. Currently on Chicago’s north side, Nicholas keeps busy by running, reading and talking to his two cats.

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