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COMPARATIVE ULTRASONOGRAPHIC INVESTIGATIONS OF THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT AND THE LIVER IN HEALTHY AND DISEASED PIGEONS
Author(s) -
PEES MICHAEL,
KIEFER INGMAR,
KRAUTWALDJUNGHANNS MARIAELISABETH,
FILIPPICH LUCIO,
KIEFER JUERGEN,
OECHTERING GERHARD
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
veterinary radiology and ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.541
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1740-8261
pISSN - 1058-8183
DOI - 10.1111/j.1740-8261.2006.00156.x
Subject(s) - echogenicity , medicine , duodenum , gastrointestinal tract , ultrasound , liver disease , gastroenterology , gastrointestinal disease , ultrasonography , genitourinary system , small intestine , pathology , disease , radiology
The use of ultrasound as a diagnostic tool in birds has been documented for cardiac, urogenital, and liver disease. However, its use in gastrointestinal tract disease is not defined. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the ultrasonographic findings of the intestine and liver of six healthy racing pigeons with those of six racing pigeons with gastrointestinal disease. The echogenicity of the liver was significantly different between the two groups. Pigeons with gastrointestinal disease had less homogeneous liver echogenicity with focal heterogeneous areas and the hepatic blood vessels were visible and dilated. The duodenum was visualized and its mean diameter of 7.2±0.3 mm in the diseased pigeons was significantly wider ( P ≤0.001) than the 5.7±0.2 mm in healthy birds. The thickness of the duodenal wall in healthy and diseased pigeons was 1.6±0.1 and 2.4±0.1 mm, respectively, and they were significantly different ( P ≤0.001). We defined baseline measurements for the duodenal loop in pigeons and provided evidence that ultrasound can be a useful diagnostic tool for investigating intestinal disease in pigeons.