TRANSABDOMINAL SONOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF THE CANINE PROSTATE

The present study sought to determine the accuracy of ultrasonographic measurement of the prostate; to observe the ultrasonographic appearance of the normal prostate; and to compare these observations with those in prostates affected by cystic hyperplasia, benign hyperplasia, land neoplasia. Trassabdominal ultrasonography of the canine prostate was performed in eight normal dogs to establish criteria for evaluating enlarged prostates. Marginal boundries, size, and ultrasonographic architecture were compared with dissection findings to assess the accuracy of ultrasonography. Four enlarged prostates were evaluated ultrasonographically, and the findings were correlated with results of needle aspiration and urethral wash and with surgical and histopathologic findings. Differentiation between cystic and solid prostatic enlargement by ultrasonography proved efective. Transducer frequency and gain manipulation were important factors in describing the nature of the fluid within a cyst. Assenssment of the nature of solid prostatic enlargement and accurate size determination proved to be areas in which ultrasonography should by used in conjunction with other diagnostic techniques.