Ultrasonography of the equine abdomen: techniques and normal findings

ABDOMINAL ultrasonography is increasingly used in veterinary medicine and has an important role in decision‐making in horses with colic. The technique has been used predominantly in foals and smaller horses, where rectal palpation is not possible, but is also a valuable diagnostic aid in the adult horse. It enables the veterinary surgeon to image regions of the abdomen that are inaccessible to rectal palpation, such as the duodenum and stomach. It allows abnormal rectal findings to be confirmed and, in many cases, provides further information. For example, rectal palpation may detect distended loops of small intestine, but ultrasonography will determine the degree of distension, any thickening of the intestinal wall, and the presence or absence of motility. Based on this, features that distinguish between surgical and non‐surgical lesions can be identified. This, the first of two articles discussing the use of ultrasonography in the equine acute abdomen, describes the techniques of abdominal ultrasonography, and normal ultrasonographic findings. The second article, to be published in the next issue, will describe ultrasonographic changes occurring in the colic patient.