B-Mode and Color Doppler Sonographic Appearance of Pelvic Tendon, Ligament and Uterine Blood Flow in Non-pregnant and Heavy Pregnant Dairy Cows

Sonography of pelvic ligament in cows

Abstract

This study was carried out to provide comparative B-mode and Doppler ultrasonographic description of pelvic tendon, ligaments, middle uterine artery and placentomes in non-pregnant and heavy pregnant cows. It also, screens pregnancy associated changes like hemodynamics of middle uterine artery and serum concentrations of estrogen and progesterone. Forty pluiparous dairy cows of native breeds were scanned. The animals were separated into two groups of 20 cows, first group was non-pregnant and second group was heavy pregnant at 9^th month of gestation. The examination was performed using multiple imaging B-mode and color Doppler ultrasonography. Pelvic tendon and ligaments including dorsal branch of the dorsal sacroiliac ligament- thoracolumbar fascia combination (D-DSIL-TLF), lateral and ventral branches of the dorsal sacroiliac ligament (L-DSIL and V-DSIL respectively), and sacrosciatic ligament (SSL) as well as the middle uterine artery (MUA) and placentomes were monitored. Serum estrogen and progesterone concentrations were evaluated. Results revealed that pregnancy greatly influenced doppler indices and diameter of MUA, serum estrogen and progesterone concentrations, and measurements of pelvic ligaments except the thickness and cross -sectional area of D-DSIL- TLF combination. The obtained results could be used as a guide for future studies dealing with monitoring normal and abnormal pregnancy in cows.