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Examination of the lungs of adult sheep with chronic respiratory diseases was readily achieved using both 5MHz linear and sector scanners. Superficial lung abscesses in eight sheep appeared as anechoic areas containing multiple hyperechoic dots bordered distally by a broad hyperechoic capsule. Unilateral fibrinous pleurisy (2 sheep) appeared as an anechoic area containing a hyperechoic latticework. Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) lesions appeared as sharply demarcated hypoechoic areas in the lung parenchyma initially in the cranioventral lung lobes (21 sheep) with lesions also present in the caudodorsal diaphragmatic lobe (11 sheep); abscesses and areas of calcification within the OPA tumour mass were also identified. Daily treatment with procaine penicillin for 30 consecutive days was successful in both sheep with unilateral fibrinous pleurisy and six sheep identified with superficial lung abscesses measuring 2-8 cmin diameter; only one of two sheep with more extensive lesions recovered. Auscultation of the chest failed to detect adventitious sounds in any of the ten sheep with lung abscesses; normal breath sounds were reduced over the area of fibrinous pleurisy; no pleuritic rubs were heard. Wheezes and crackles auscultated in some OPA cases and did not correlate well with lesions detected ultrasonographically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic suppurative pneumonia is a common condition affecting cattle. Accurate diagnosis and delineation of pathology prove difficult when based on lung auscultation. Ultrasonography has been used in bovine fertility management for over 25 years, but it is less commonly used to examine the lungs and pleurae of cattle with suspected respiratory disease. This article presents a series of sonograms obtained from the same animals using both 5MHz linear and 5MHz sector scanners, and correlates the findings with postmortem examination material wherever possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasonographic demonstration of abscesses within the liver in an animal with chronic weight loss/poor production should stimulate further ultrasonographic examination of the lungs and right kidney to assess bacteraemic spread although it is often difficult to afford a precise prognosis. Most liver abscesses are caused by Trueperella (formerly Arcanobacterium) pyogenes and the most effective treatment is procaine penicillin administered for 30-42 consecutive days. The mechanism of weight loss in animals with liver abscesses has not been reported, but a number of pathogenic mechanisms are plausible including gastrointestinal dysfunction, liver disease, and hypercatabolism. Anorexia, due to pain or chronic inflammation, is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Marked urinary bladder distension, hydroureters, bilateral hydronephrosis and peri-renal fluid accumulation were identified ultrasonographically in two rams from the same farm over two years. One ewe also showed urine staining, bladder distension and incontinence for six months. There were normal tail and rectal muscle tone, and normal perineal and pelvic limb reflexes in all sheep. A presumptive diagnosis of pelvic nerve dysfunction causing detrusor atony and bladder distension, with secondary, pressure-induced hydronephrosis, is suggested. Detailed dissection at necropsy found no evidence of urethral obstruction in either ram; the ewe was sold fat after six months' observation. Pelvic nerve dysfunction may readily be confused with partial urethral obstruction and this condition may be more widespread than previously considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Epididymitis caused by Actinobacillus seminis/Histophilus ovis (gram-negative pleomorphic organisms) is a major cause of ram infertility in the UK. Diagnosis is confirmed by sequential ultrasonographic examination of the pampiniform plexus, testicle and tail of the epididymis undertaken as the 5 MHz linear scanner head is moved distally. In cases of unilateral epididymitis, hemicastration is generally ill-advised because of the extensive adhesions between the inflamed (and abscessed) epididymis and the vaginal tunics. Sperm granulomas may develop over several years after vasectomy but do not affect the sexual behaviour of the vasectomised ram; ultrasonographically there is testicular atrophy and marked enlargement of the tail of the epididymis such that the scrotal contents have a bi-lobed appearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utility of routine auscultation to detect and characterise the nature of a range of superficial lung and pleural pathologies in domestic sheep was assessed using ultrasonographic examination to indicate and localise pathologies pre-mortem. Necropsy examination was then used to fully characterise the nature and extent of the lesions. Auscultation recordings were made from 10 normal sheep with no clinical evidence of respiratory disease and with absence of significant superficial lung pathology, which was confirmed initially by ultrasound examination and subsequently at necropsy examination. A further two sheep with endotoxaemia and 30 sheep with well-defined lung lesions were also examined. Increased audibility of normal lung sounds in 4/10 normal sheep was associated with tachypnoea as a consequence of handling and transport during hot weather and was also observed in the two sheep with endotoxaemia. Moderate to severe coarse crackles detected in all advanced cases of ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (n = 16) were audible over an area larger than the lesion distribution identified during ultrasound examination, and confirmed later at necropsy. Auscultation did not detect abnormal sounds in any of the five sheep with focal pleural abscesses (up to 10 cm diameter). Unilateral pyothorax caused attenuation of sounds relative to the contra-lateral normal lung in all three sheep with this condition. Marked fibrinous pleurisy caused attenuation of sounds relative to normal areas of lung in six sheep. No sounds resembling the description of pleural frictions rubs were heard in the sheep with marked fibrinous pleurisy (n = 6) or associated with focal pleural abscesses (n = 5). Routine interpretation of auscultated sound did not allow the presence of superficial lung pathology or its distribution to be accurately defined in the respiratory diseases represented in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]