Diagnostic ultrasonography in canine: A review

Abstract

Real-time B-mode ultrasonography has become an indispensable diagnostic tool in canine reproduction, providing a non-invasive method for evaluating the reproductive tract under both normal and pathological conditions. This review summarizes the applications of ultrasonography in assessing the uterus and ovaries, monitoring the estrous cycle, diagnosing pregnancy, estimating gestational age, evaluating fetal viability, and identifying reproductive disorders in female dogs. Characteristic ultrasonographic features of uterine abnormalities, including cystic endometrial hyperplasia, pyometra, mucometra, stump pyometra, and uterine neoplasms, are discussed. The review also highlights the role of ultrasonography in detecting gestational abnormalities, postpartum uterine involution, ovarian follicular development, ovarian cysts, and neoplasia. Advances in ultrasonographic imaging have significantly improved reproductive management by enabling early diagnosis, timely therapeutic intervention, and enhanced breeding efficiency in canine practice.