ULTRASONOGRAPHIC ANATOMY OF THE CANINE BRAIN

Abstract

Midline or lateral craniotomies were made in the skull of six normal dogs to allow ultrasound examination of the brain. The purposes of the study were (1) to describe the normal sonographic anatomy of the canine brain and (2) to develop the use of burr hole as research tool to allow sonographic examination of the canine brain. The sonographic appearance of the falx cerebri, splenial sulci, cingulate gyrus, callosal sulci, lateral ventricles, third ventricle, caudate nuclei, thalamus, hippocampus, cerebellum, and osseous tento‐rium were described. Results of this study suggest that the surgical creation of cranial defect is safe, reliable, and effective in providing window for ultrasound observation. The anatomic description should also allow recognition of sonographic abnormalities in the brain of dogs with persistent fontanelles.