Cat Ultrasound

Ultrasound, which does not use radiation to show the internal organs, is verysafe. The equipment is very expensive, however, and a doctor must be speciallytrained to interpret the pictures. This specialist might be a radiologist or cardiol-ogist (for ultrasound of the heart). Many times these specialists work at large re-ferral centers or veterinary schools.

In ultrasound, high-speed sound waves (more than 20,000 per second) aretransmitted from the tip of a device called a transducer. This tip also houses a microphone. The sound waves bounce off various organs differently, and these reflected waves are displayed on a televisionlike oscilloscope. Sedation may not be necessary, because ultrasound is a painless procedure. A lubricant and the transducer are placed on a shaved area of the skin over the area to be examined.

Ultrasound is extremely helpful in diagnosing and monitoring a pet with car-
diomyopathy and other heart diseases. This procedure is called an echocardio-
gram. Ultrasound is also very helpful in viewing the gall bladder, liver, spleen,
kidney, lymph nodes, pancreas, uterus, ovaries, and the chest. Sometimes during
biopsies doctors use ultrasound to view the internal organs while directing the
needle or forceps to the site. Evaluating the fetuses during pregnancy is another
very useful procedure.