Ultrasonographic measurements of the prostate gland in castrated adult dogs.

BACKGROUND: The dimensions of the prostatic gland in castrated adult dogs, as assessed by ultrasonography, is currently not yet reported in veterinary literature. The current study was aimed at reporting the prostatic dimensions in castrated dogs and investigate the relationship between the dogs' body weight and prostate size. A second aim of the study was to investigate whether there was a relationship between the dogs' age and prostate dimensions. A prospective, single-centre, observational study was conducted and 72 privately owned, adult, male castrated dogs with a range of breeds and ages met the final inclusion criteria. The subjects were divided into three categories based on body weight. RESULTS: A Kruskal-Wallis test found prostatic length and prostatic depth in the longitudinal orientation to be significantly different among the 3 categories (P < 0.005), with an increase in both prostatic length and prostatic depth with increasing body weight. Linear regression of the data set provided comprehensive formulas calculating prostatic length and depth based on the body weight of the dog (r2 of 0.69 and 0.53 for prostatic length and depth respectively). Kendall's Tau rank test showed no correlation between dogs' age and prostate dimensions (P > 0.100). CONCLUSIONS: The current study is the first to provide a comprehensive, weight-based reference for the canine prostate gland of castrated dogs when assessed on ultrasonography.

Contrast-enhanced CT findings in a dog with a wood foreign body in the vertebral canal.

An 8-year-old Border collie was presented with progressive tetraparesis, 6 days after oropharyngeal trauma with a wooden stick. Contrast-enhanced CT of the head and the cervical spine showed heterogeneous enhancement of the soft tissues surrounding the C1 through C3 region, with extension into the ventral vertebral canal at this level. Two separate, small, foreign bodies were visible; one of which was located within the vertebral canal. Surgical exploration confirmed the presence of wooden foreign bodies within the para-vertebral soft tissues and within the vertebral canal. The dog was clinically normal 6 months postoperatively.

Vestibular syndrome due to a choroid plexus papilloma in a ferret.

A 6-year-old, castrated male ferret (Mustela putorius furo) was presented with progressive neurological signs consisting of a right-sided head tilt and ataxia. Neurological examination revealed hemiparesis and absence of proprioception on the right side, consistent with central vestibular syndrome. Measurement of blood glucose excluded hypoglycemia due to insulinoma. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed the presence of an intracranial mass, consistent with either granuloma or neoplasia. Palliative treatment with prednisolone yielded no improvement. At postmortem examination, a final diagnosis of a choroid plexus papilloma originating from the fourth ventricle was made. This is the first report of such a tumor in a ferret.

Magnetic resonance imaging of the canine optic nerve.

We describe the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging aspects of normal canine optic nerve, the diameter of the optic nerve as measured on MR images, and optimal MR sequences for the evaluation of the optic nerve using a 0.2T MR unit. Three millimeter contiguous slides of the normal canine orbital region were acquired in transverse and dorsal oblique planes using a variety of tissue weighting sequences. It was apparent that detailed anatomic assessment of the optic nerve can be performed with low-field MR imaging, but none of the sequences provided unequivocal superior image quality of the optic nerve. The mean diameter of the optic nerve sheath complex was 3.7mm and of the optic nerve 1.7 mm. The intraorbital and intracanalicular parts of the optic nerve are consistently visible and differentiation between the optic nerve and optic nerve sheath complex is possible using low-field MR systems.

Chronic pulmonary interstitial fibrosis in a blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva aestiva).

A 30-yr-old blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazon aestiva aestiva) was presented to the clinic with a history of sneezing more often during the last 2 mo. Physical examination revealed only a mild nasal discharge. Complete hematologic and plasma biochemical examination showed no abnormalities. Computerized tomography (CT) of the complete bird showed generalized lung alterations consistent with lung fibrosis. Two lung biopsies were taken. The results of the histologic examination of the biopsies confirmed the tentative CT diagnosis of pulmonary interstitial fibrosis. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of chronic pulmonary interstitial fibrosis diagnosed by means of a lung biopsy in an avian species. The histologic characteristics are discussed and compared with those of human idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.