Ultrasonography

Veterinary Ultrasonography Advantages

Ultrasound is also very useful in the evaluation of the thorax and a variety of other ‘small parts‘.Ultrasonography is a valuable, non invasive imaging technique which can be used to assess the internal architecture of abdominal organs. In many cases this allows exploratory surgery to be avoided; in other cases, it can help to direct the surgeon towards a particular area of pathology. Ultrasound is also very useful in the evaluation of the thorax and a variety of other ‘small parts‘.

The Abdomen

Important indications for abdominal ultrasound include unexplained weight loss, ongoing vomiting and/or diarrhoea, abdominal pain, palpable abdominal masses / organomegaly, ascites, haematuria, metastatic screening and pregnancy diagnosis.
Organs routinely evaluated include the liver, spleen, gastro-intestinal tract, pancreas, kidneys +/-ureters, bladder, uterus, ovaries, prostate, adrenal glands & lymph nodes
.Where necessary, ultrasound can be used to guide minimally invasive fine needle aspirates +/-trucut biopsies.

The Thorax

Cardiac ultrasound allows a dynamic evaluation of the size & structure of the heart chambers & valves, with Doppler ultrasound used to assess the velocity & direction of cardiac blood flow. Important indications for cardiac ultrasound include the investigation of heart murmurs, cardiac dysrhythmias, unexplained episodes of collapse and suspected pericardial effusion.
Non-cardiac thoracic ultrasound is also useful in the assessment and, where necessary, non-invasive sampling, of pleural effusions, mediastinal masses, thoracic wall masses, pleural masses or peripheral lung masses.
 

The 'Small Parts'

Other body parts amenable to ultrasound evaluation include the larynx, thyroids, parathyroids, musculo-skeletal system, eyes, testicles and superficial skin lumps.