Ultrasonography

Ultrasonography is a procedure that uses high-energy sound waves to look at tissues and organs inside the body. The picture shown back on the screen represents the echoes the sound waves receive back from the organs. The sound waves can’t travel through more solid structures like bones, foreign bodies or stones so they are good at determining structures that shouldn’t be there. Also, the veterinarian performing the ultrasonography will be able to spot when organs are looking abnormal or whether there are masses present that shouldn’t be there.

Your pet will need to be placed on their back for most of the ultrasonographic examinations. The fur will be clipped over the area that is to be scanned and some water-based gel will be applied to allow the ultrasound waves to penetrate the skin and produce a clear image. A complete examination usually takes around 30 minutes and doesn’t require a general anaesthetic.