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Objective: The aim of the presented study was to compare the diagnostic procedures palpation, sonography and endoscopy for detection of lesions of the inner mucosal layer in bovine teats and to evaluate their diagnostic value. Material and methods: The investigation material involved 436 teats of 109 dairy cows of different breeds which were slaughtered out of different reasons. All teats were examined by palpation, sonography and endoscopy via papillar duct for the presence of teat cistern mucosa lesions. Afterwards teats were opened by longitudinal incision for macroscopic evaluation. Tissue samples of obvious lesions were taken and prepared for histopathological examination. Based on the results of macroscopic and histopathological investigations the results of the different diagnostic procedures were compared. Results: In 38 cases (8.7%) remarkable findings were present in the macroscopic investigation, which had only been detected without exception by endoscopy via teat canal. Both other diagnostic methods dropped in their results in contrast to this clearly. Endoscopy (p = 0.05). Histopathological findings reflected the results of the palpatoric, sonographic and endoscopic investigation in a high amount. Conclusions and clinical relevance: Alterations of the teat cistern mucosa of dairy cows are insufficiently detected by use of classical clinical method palpation. Imaging diagnostic procedures (sonography/endoscopy) extend the diagnostic spectrum substantially. Sonography is usually sufficient when lesions are located in the teat cistern. However, in case of alterations at the inner orifice of the papillar duct or the papillar duct itself an additional endoscopic examination is recommended for definition of a suitable therapy method.

The aim of the present study was to follow up the potential of routine ultrasonographic diagnostics of pregnancy in cats depending on the course of oestrus and the mating. The experiments were performed on 22 cats and the data were collected from a total of 31 oestral cycles and 26 confirmed pregnancies. Pregnancy was detected using transabdominal ultrasonography with an Aloca-SSD 500 equipment and a linear 5 MHz probe. Depending on the reproductive cycle, the animals were divided into 2 groups. The first group included 17 cats with diagnosed pregnancy by the 25th day of the beginning of the oestrus. The second group included 5 cats where the diagnosis pregnancy was preceded by 2 oestruses. Our studies indicated that the course of the oestrus influenced considerably the precision of ultrasonographic diagnostics of pregnancy in cats. In 92.3% of all cases, the first observed copulation could be accepted as the beginning of pregnancy, in 88.4 % - the first mating during the last observed oestrus. In 8% of cases, the time interval between the beginning of gestation and the last mating was shorter compared to the period from the first mating to fertilization.

Three lactating cows each were inserted with a teat dilator, a gut string teat dilator, a teat cannula or a natural insert into all teats. All teats of 3 control cows were not treated. Milking was ceased for 5 days and all devices were left in the teats during that period. All teats were examined by endoscopy before and after insertion. By day 6, all teats inserted with a teat dilator, a gut string teat dilator or a teat cannula showed severe proliferative inflammation and injuries of the teat cistern lining. All teats inserted with the natural insert and controls were grossly normal., The Bovine Practitioner, No. 32.2 (1998 May)