ULTRASONOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF SNAKES COELOMIC CAVITY

Abstract

Interest in reptiles has grown in the last years and the increasing of these animals in captivity became the knowledge in management and clinic, a necessity for the veterinarian. Complementary tests such as ultrasound may help in clinical diagnosis of diseases which often show no clinical evident signs. Ultrasound is a safe diagnostic method, non invasive and efficient in reptile medicine. The applications include monitoring of reproductive function and disease diagnostic through analysis of anatomical and topographical organs changes. There are few studies about ultrasound of different organs in a large number of wild animals and rare studies in snakes. These reptiles present the body and internal organs elongated, which differ them from others animals in form and presentation. The aim of this revision is to describe the technique of examination and the ultrasonographic aspects of the organs of coelomic cavity of snakes.