Lower urinary tract disease comprises a major portion of disease diagnosed and managed in small animal practice. However, the cornerstone for diagnosis and management of lower urinary tract disease used in human medicine, cystoscopy, has until recently received limited application in veterinary medicine. Advantages of cystoscopy over other diagnostic techniques are many, as it provides minimally invasive direct visualization of the vagina, urethral opening, urethra, bladder, and ureteral openings. Visualization of these structures, even where accessible by surgery, is far superior with cystoscopy because of magnification provided by the instrumentation and elimination of distortion that occurs with cystotomy or other surgical entry into the urinary tract.
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