Visualization and measurement of teat structures in Black-and-White cows through ultrasonography

The aim of the present study was to determine the features and size of teat structures in cows using ultrasonography. The experiment was conducted with 12 clinically healthy Black-and-White cows, 3 years of age, with body weight 350–450 kg. Ultrasonography was performed on 48 teats using ultrasound SonoScape A5v (SonoScape, China) with multifrequency linear transducer (5–12 MHz). The potential of the imaging technique to visualize teat structures as well as teat canal length and diameter, the diameter in the area of the rosette of Furstenberg, teat wall thickness, teat cistern diameter in its middle part and teat cistern diameter in teat base was evaluated. Scans were conducted before milking, immediately after milking, and 1 and 2 hours after milking. The average teat canal length measured by ultrasound was 8.48±1.41 mm before milking, and until the 2nd post milking hour its size became statistically significantly (p