Being a veterinarian is obviously a very tough job. They have to skillfully wrangle terrified cats and dogs to check every inch of their bodies. They can’t explain to an animal, “Hey man, this is good for you.” They simply have to do their difficult, virtuous work while their patient thinks they’re going to die.

But it gets a whole lot more complicated than that. Some animals have to be X-rayed, which requires them to sit still inside of a giant scary machine. It can be difficult enough to get humans to do this – let alone a giraffe or a fish. Some of the skeletons they have to observe belong to truly shocking beasts. We’ve got photos of lizards taped to boards, snakes in tubes, and lions being fed industrial-grade anesthesia. 

It’s weird, funny, and admittedly a little disturbing to look at. But all for a good reason! Also, some of these are probably MRI machines. Sue us.