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. 2025 Mar 14;57(2):119.
doi: 10.1007/s11250-025-04375-x.

Ultrasound imaging of the spleen, liver, and kidneys in healthy hair sheep: a pilot study

Tatiane Vitor da Silva  1   2 , Rafael do Prado Freitas  3 , Claudilane Rodrigues Carvalho  3 , Beatriz Souza Costa  3 , Marcella Silva Rosendo Dos Santos  3 , Delia Maria Lacasta Lozano  4 , Pablo Quilez Lozano  4 , Jobson Filipe de Paula Cajueiro  5 , Mário Felipe Alvarez Balaro  3
Affiliations

Ultrasound imaging of the spleen, liver, and kidneys in healthy hair sheep: a pilot study

Tatiane Vitor da Silva et al. Trop Anim Health Prod. .

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the ultrasonographic appearance of the liver, spleen, and kidneys in 35 healthy Santa Inês breed sheep. The spleen was located caudal to the last rib and extended to the 8th intercostal space (ICS), while the splenic vein was predominantly visible between the 11th and 10th ICS, located between the 12th and 9th ICS. The liver was visualized from the 12th to the 7th ICS, with the portal vein exhibiting a mean diameter of 15.4 ± 2.0 mm, a rounded shape, and echogenic walls. The caudal vena cava appeared in triangular, elliptical, or round shapes, with a mean diameter of 12.13 ± 3.0 mm. The gallbladder (GB) displayed various shapes, with anechoic to hypoechoic content, and wall measurements of 29.2 ± 11.8 mm in length, 237.4 ± 147.7 mm2 in area, and 10.3 ± 4.1 mm in height. The kidneys were examined in both the craniodorsal and caudodorsal quadrants, with the right kidney observed at the 12th ICS and the left kidney typically in the right caudodorsal quadrant. The mean kidney volume was 42.8 ± 9.8 cm3 for the right kidney and 44.2 ± 10.6 cm3 for the left kidney, with average cortical and medullary diameters of 0.74 ± 0.1 cm and 0.6 ± 0.15 cm, respectively. The biometric measurements for the ureter, renal pelvis, and hilum were as follows: right kidney (0.13 ± 0.02, 0.16 ± 0.05, 0.7 ± 0.1 mm) and left kidney (0.14 ± 0.02, 0.15 ± 0.05, 0.6 ± 0.1 mm). These findings provide valuable reference values for ultrasonographic examination of abdominal organs in Santa Inês sheep, which may assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of pathologies in these animals. The methodology used showed a complete scan of the liver, spleen and kidney and proved to be a reliable technique for application in clinical routine as it allows the evaluation of the extent of the entire organ, avoiding incomplete or mistaken diagnoses.

Keywords: Abdominal ultrasonography; Objective evaluation; Ovine species; Ultrasonographic assessment; Ultrasound examination.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical Approval: All procedures described were approved by the Ethical Committee for Animal Use of Fluminense Federal University (2919170821—ID 001640) and carried out under the ethical principles of the Brazilian Society of Animal Experimentation and the guidelines of Animal Research: Reporting of in vivo experiments (Kilkenny et al. 2010). Conflict of interest: None of the authors have financial or personal relationships that may influence or distort the content of the article.

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