Thoracic radiography of the normal rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta).

Thoracic radiographs of rhesus macaques should be performed with short exposure times (1/60 s or faster) and the patient in the erect position. The patient's neck should be extended dorsally, and the arms extended above and behind the head. The tracheobronchial and lobar pulmonary anatomic features of the rhesus macaque are similar to those of the dog. The pulmonary parenchymal pattern also is similar; however, the interstitial markings are somewhat more prominent in the macaque. This may be due to lung mite infestation. The macaque does not appear from a radiologic standpoint to be superior as an animal model to dogs or cats unless there is something specific about the response or susceptibility to a disease being studied.