The Use of Ultrasound in Cow/Calf Applications

Abstract

Transrectal guided real-time ultrasound has been used extensively to diagnose reproductive scenarios in the bovine female for almost 20 years. Uterine diagnoses include early pregnancy, multiple pregnancies, sex of the fetus, exudates in the uterine lumen, early embryonic death, stage of the estrous cycle (estrus vs. diestrous), and other abnormal conditions. Ovarian diagnoses include follicular dynamics, stage of estrous cycle (estrus vs. diestrous), presence or absence of corpora lutea, cystic ovarian disease, response to super stimulation of donors at estrus and diestrous, ovarian tumors, polycystic ovaries, and anestrous vs. cycling females. In addition, ultrasound has been used as an instrument for collecting oocytes for in vitro fertilization. This paper reviews the procedures, discusses the efficacy of the diagnoses of the various conditions, and reflects on the scenarios most commonly encountered in bovine practice. The learning curve for using ultrasound will also be thoroughly reviewed.