Studies on Echostructural Pattern of Urinary System in Adult Female Goats

Abstract

Background: Ultrasonography is a second most commonly used diagnostic imaging technique in veterinary practice after radiography. The ultrasonographic examination of clinically healthy animals provides relevant information about anatomical location, echo texture, size and shape of organs. In the present study, the echo-structural pattern of urinary system of adult female goats were evaluated to find the normal structural pattern of various constituents of urinary system. Methods: B-mode ultrasonographic study of urinary system was performed in 20 healthy adult female Jamunapari goats. Mean±S.E. values of body weight and age of selected animals were 27.49±0.79 kg and 2.77±0.10 years, respectively. All twenty animals were subjected to sonographic examination after clipping the hairs from desired sites to scan the various organs of urinary system in standing position under physical restraint without using any anesthetic agent. The values of various clinico-physiological parameters including rectal temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, colour of mucous membranes were recorded to examine the health status prior to sonography. The left and right kidneys were scanned from right dorsal flank by paravertebral approach using a transcutaneous micro-convex probe at 5 MHz and a convex probe at 2.8-6 MHz frequency. A dual frequency (5-9 MHz) micro-curved array cavity probe was used to scan bladder and urethra per rectally. The renal parenchyma in healthy goats was distinctly divided into hypoechoic outer cortex and anechoic inner medulla. The hyperechoic renal sinus complex was present in center of the kidney and renal pelvis was anechoic. The renal capsule was seen as hyperechoic fine line surrounding the renal parenchyma. Pulsed wave renal color doppler ultrasound was performed in 3 healthy goats with the aim to generate reference images of renal vasculature. Result: The Mean±SE values of renal length, renal height, horizontal diameter of renal sinus, vertical diameter of renal sinus and diameter of renal pelvis for right kidney were 6.11±0.09, 3.26±0.08, 3.01±0.11, 1.32±0.03, 1.05±0.03, respectively while for left kidney these values were 6.02±0.09 and 3.35±0.07, 2.67±0.12, 1.14±0.06, 1.10±0.07 cm. The ureters could not be visualized in any of the goats. The distended bladder was seen as anechoic circular structure surrounded by a smooth echogenic wall with a mean thickness of 1.65±0.06 mm. No significant difference was observed in the measurements of both kidneys except in dimensions of renal sinus. Positive correlation was found between renal size and body weight of goats. It was concluded that ultrasound is an easy, rapid and non-invasive method to evaluate echotexture and morphometry of structures of urinary system.