Peritoneal ultrasonography in dogs and cats

摘要

Peritoneal effusion is common in small animal practice; however, many other diseases can involve the peritoneum and peritoneal cavity, such as peritonitis, cysts, haemato-mas, parasitosis and neoplasias. Ultrasound examination can detect even small amounts of fluid that are not detectable radiographically and may assist in performing echo-guided paracentesis, thus allowing examination of the resulting fluid and, if possible, the determination of the cause. Abdominal ultrasonography has also been used successfully in the diagnosis of many other peritoneal diseases. We review the echographic images associated with the most frequent pathologies of the peritoneum and peritoneal cavity of the dog and the cat.