Transrectal ultrasonography of the left adrenal gland in healthy horses.
Abstract: Little information is available on medical imaging of the adrenal glands in horses. We investigated the feasibility of transrectal ultrasonography to characterize the normal equine adrenal gland. Transrectal ultrasonography was performed in 25 healthy horses using a 7.5 MHz linear array probe at a displayed depth of 8 cm. Transrectal ultrasonography of the right adrenal gland was not feasible. For the left adrenal gland, the left kidney, the abdominal aorta, the left renal artery, the left renal vein, and the cranial mesenteric artery were used as landmarks. The size of the left adrenal gland was variable, but it generally appeared as a long, flat structure with a hyperechoic medulla surrounded by a hypoechoic cortex. The most cranial part of the gland could not be delineated appropriately in 11 horses (44%). The mean (+/-SD) thickness of the gland and medulla was 0.66 +/- 0.15cm (n = 25) and 0.28 +/- 0.09 cm (n = 25) near the caudal pole, 0.87 +/- 0.25 cm (n = 14) and 0.40 +/- 0.18 cm (n = 12) near the cranial pole, and 0.89 +/- 0.18 cm (n = 25) and 0.36 +/- 0.13 cm (n = 25) in the middle of the gland, respectively. The mean (+/-SD) length of the entire adrenal gland and of the medulla was 6.22 +/- 0.77 cm (n = 14) and 5.45 +/- 0.71 cm (n = 6), respectively. Transrectal ultrasonography allowed adequate visualization of the left adrenal gland in horses.
Publication Date: 2010-10-27 PubMed ID: 20973389DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-8261.2010.01696.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The researchers have examined the use of transrectal ultrasonography to study the appearance of the left adrenal gland in healthy horses, and found it to be a feasible method for further exploration of equine adrenal gland health and physiology.
Key Findings
- The study’s main objective was to investigate the potential of using transrectal ultrasonography to characterize the normal adrenal gland in horses. This was driven by the lack of existing information in this area of veterinary medicine.
- The researchers conducted this study on 25 healthy horses using a 7.5 MHz linear array probe at a displayed depth of 8 cm. They found that the same method could not be applied to study the right adrenal gland.
- For investigating the left adrenal gland, the horses’ left kidney, the abdominal aorta, the left renal artery, the left renal vein, and the cranial mesenteric artery were used as landmarks. This allowed the researchers to delineate and study the adrenal gland in detail.
Nature and Appearance of the Adrenal Gland
- The size of the left adrenal gland was found to be variable among the horses. In most cases, it appeared as a long, flat structure, featuring a hyperechoic (highly reflective of ultrasound waves) medulla enclosed by a hypoechoic (less reflective) cortex.
- In 44% of the horses (11 out of 25), the researchers were unable to properly delineate the most cranial part of the gland.
Measurements and Visualization
- Measurements of the thickness of the gland and the medulla were taken near the caudal (near the tail) pole, cranial (near the head) pole, and in the middle of the gland. Similarly, the length of the entire adrenal gland and of the medulla was also recorded.
- The results indicated that transrectal ultrasonography provides sufficient visualization of the left adrenal gland in horses, offering promise for further diagnostic and research use in the study of equine adrenal gland health and physiology.
Cite This Article
APA
Durie I, Van Loon G, Vermeire S, De Clercq D, Vanschandevijl K, Deprez P.
(2010).
Transrectal ultrasonography of the left adrenal gland in healthy horses.
Vet Radiol Ultrasound, 51(5), 540-544.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8261.2010.01696.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Large Animal Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
MeSH Terms
- Adipose Tissue / diagnostic imaging
- Adrenal Glands / diagnostic imaging
- Animals
- Female
- Functional Laterality
- Horses
- Male
- Orchiectomy
- Rectum
- Reference Values
- Ultrasonography / methods
- Ultrasonography / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Lauteri E, Mariella J, Beccati F, Roelfsema E, Castagnetti C, Pepe M, Peric T, Barbato O, Montillo M, Rouge S, Freccero F. Adrenal Gland Ultrasonographic Measurements and Plasma Hormone Concentrations in Clinically Healthy Newborn Thoroughbred and Standardbred Foals. Animals (Basel) 2021 Jun 19;11(6).
- Fouché N, Gerber V, Gorgas D, Marolf V, Grouzmann E, van der Kolk JH, Navas de Solis C. Catecholamine Metabolism in a Shetland Pony with Suspected Pheochromocytoma and Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction. J Vet Intern Med 2016 Nov;30(6):1872-1878.
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