High‐Resolution Computed Tomography Imaging of the Cranial Arterial System and Rete Mirabile of the Cat (Felis catus)

The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of obtaining high‐resolution multiplanar computed tomography (CT) imaging of the cranial arterial circulation of the cat (Felis catus), the rete mirabile, and components of the skull, utilizing preserved cat specimens with an arterial system that was injected with a radiopaque contrast compound in the early 1970s. Review of the literature shows no high‐resolution CT studies of the cat's cranial circulation, with only few plain radiographic studies, all with limited cranial vascular visualization. In view of the inability of the radiographic techniques available from 1970s to mid‐2000s to provide high‐resolution imaging of the arterial circulation within the intact skull and brain of the cat, without dissection and histologic sectioning and disruption of tissues, no further imaging was performed for many years. In 2010, a high‐resolution micro CT scanner became available, large enough to scan the entire nondissected head of the arterially injected cats. All the obtained CT images were processed with a software program that provided 3D volume rendering and multiplanar reconstruction with the ability to change the plane angulation and slab thickness. These technical features permitted more precise identification of specific arterial and bony anatomy. The obtained images demonstrated, with a nondestructive method, high‐resolution vascular anatomy of the cerebral, orbital, facial arterial system, the rete mirabile, and skull bone components of the cat, with details not previously described in the literature. Anat Rec, 302:1958–1967, 2019. © 2019 The Authors. The Anatomical Record published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Anatomists.