Diagnostic Ultrasound And Animal Reproduction (current Topics In Veterinary Medicine)

The use of ultrasonic imaging techniques for diagnostic purposes in veteri­ nary medicine and animal science has lagged far behind their use in human medicine. In the area of domestic animal reproduction, diagnostic ultrasono­ graphy has a relatively short history. Reports on B-mode scanning first appeared as late as 1969, when Stouffer and co-workers used it for counting foetal numbers in late gestation sheep. After Lindahl had re-evaluated the potential of two-dimensional ultrasonography for pregnancy diagnosis in sheep in 1976, results of the first large scale field-trials by Fowler and Wilkins on predicting foetal numbers during the first half of gestation in sheep were published as recently as 1980. In this year also the first paper, by Palmer and co-workers, on ultrasonic scanning of the uterus and ovaries in the mare appeared. The improvement of diagnostics which was achieved by the application of this technique is illustrated by its present routine use in clinical equine practice and sheep breeding. Besides offe­ ring an accurate early pregnancy diagnosis in species such as the horse, cow, sheep, goat, pig and dog, ultrasonography enables the visualization of ovarian and uterine structures for the identification of both physiological and pathological conditions. In this way it replaces or supplements the more common diagnostic techniques used by the general practitioner so far. Ultrasonography has also opened several new lines of research for clini­ cians and research workers. Front Matter....Pages i-vii Technical Principles of Ultrasound....Pages 1-9 The Use of Ultrasonography in the Reproductive Management of Mares in the Field....Pages 11-19 Ultrasonic Characteristics of Pathological Conditions of the Equine Uterus and Ovaries....Pages 21-35 Ultrasonic Characteristics of Physiological Structures on Bovine Ovaries....Pages 37-51 Ultrasonic Characteristics of Pathological Conditions of the Bovine Uterus and Ovaries....Pages 53-65 Early Pregnancy Diagnosis in Cattle by Means of Transrectal Real-Time Ultrasound Scanning of the Uterus....Pages 67-72 The Application of Real-Time Ultrasonic Scanning in Commercial Sheep, Goats and Cattle Production Enterprises....Pages 73-87 The Diagnosis of Pregnancy and Pseudopregnancy, and the Determination of Foetal Numbers of Goats, by Means of Real-Time Ultrasound Scanning....Pages 89-96 The Use of Linear Array Real-Time Ultrasonography for Pregnancy Diagnosis in Pigs....Pages 97-103 Accuracy of Pregnancy Diagnosis in Dogs by Means of Linear-Array Ultrasound Scanning....Pages 105-110 Diagnostic Ultrasound in Other Areas of Veterinary Medicine....Pages 111-114 Diagnostic Ultrasound and Human Reproduction....Pages 115-120 Back Matter....Pages 121-125