Gorilla's in our midst


I was doing some work at the jacksonville Zoo this week with Dr. Kapustin and Dr Tier and did an echocardiogram on a Gorilla. Everytime I do one of these I am amazed at the massive size of these primates. Fortuneately for me he was anesthetized for his physical. They do a great job at the Zoo,
doing this on almost every animal each year, getting blood work, x-rays and dental care done.
According to Dr. Tier, Gorilla's suffer from many of the same ailments that we do with a very high incidence of Hypertension and Aortic annurism. This Gorilla was "Lash" a 30+ male, with REALLY BIG hands and teeth. As I did the Echo a dedicated team worked over lash drawing blood , monitoring vital signs and examining for any potential problems. His Echo was fairly normal and no significant problems were seen. Lash was a good sport and allowed himself to pose for a quick photo. Until next year.

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