Cranial computed tomography in the evaluation of neurologic disorders in two nonhuman primates.

Cranial computed tomography (CCT) was used to evaluate neurologic disorders in 2 primates. In the 1st case, acute left hemiparesis developed in an adult female proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus). A CCT scan revealed a right frontal lobe abscess that was subsequently surgically drained. In the 2nd case, a juvenile black spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps) experienced recurrent seizures following an episode of trauma and anoxia. A CCT scan demonstrated enlarged lateral ventricles and cerebral atrophy. Computed tomography proved to be a valuable technique for localizing and characterizing brain lesions in these 2 primates, after more conventional methods of investigation had failed to establish diagnoses.