Evaluation of liver fibrosis by investigation of hepatic parenchymal perfusion using contrast-enhanced ultrasound: an animal study.

Purpose: To investigate the value of assessing the hepatic parenchymal perfusion in contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for evaluating liver fibrosis, using an animal model.

Methods: Seventy Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into experimental (n = 35) and control (n = 35) groups. In the experimental group, liver fibrosis was induced by intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride.

Reliability of 2D ultrasound measurements of testis size in dolphins taken under voluntary behavior.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the reliability of two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound in measuring testis size in dolphins, in vivo, with the subject presenting for examination under voluntary or trained behaviour. The testes of five bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) were measured once by two operators to test inter-operator variability (reproducibility) and repeatedly measured by the same operator to test intra-operator variability (repeatability). Ultrasound examinations for each test were conducted on the same day to avoid measurement variability due to time difference.

Semen collection and ejaculate characteristics in the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus).

The testes of sexually mature dolphins produce large quantities of sperm. Sperm are expelled in copious amounts of seminal fluid through repeated ejaculations that can occur within a short period of time. There is currently a lack of detail about the methodology of sequential ejaculate collection in dolphins and how the traits of individual ejaculates affect the assessment of reproductive capacity.