Ultrasonographic examination of the ovine thorax

Ultrasonographic examination of the thorax of 15 adult healthy sheep using a 5.0MHz sector transducerrevealed the lung surface as a hyperechoic (white) linear echo at a distance of 1.2–2cm from the transducer head with equidistant reverberation artifacts below this line. Ultrasonographic examination of 10 sheep with pulmonary disorders included five sheep with pleural abscesses which appeared as hypeechoic areas extending up to 8cm deep containing multiple hyperechoic spots (gas echoes). The distribution of gross lung pathology caused by sheep pulmonary adenomatosis (five ewes), with secondary abscess formation in three sheep, could be outlined by ultrasonographic examination. Modern portable ultrasound machines provide the veterinary practitioner with an inexpensive, non-invasive tool with which to examine the pleural surfaces and superficial lung parenchyma of sheep on the farm.