Diagnosis of heptic diseases in ruminants and camelids with a special focus on sonographic examination

Clinical symptoms are mostly unspecific in hepatic diseases, thus most clinical examinations are of limited benefit in the diagnosis of hepatic diseases and often only general statements can be made about parenchymal damage or loss of function. In contrast, sonography of the liver can provide information about the type of lesion and thus also about the prognosis for the animal. A systematic assessment of organ size, parenchymal, vascular and bile duct system structures can facilitate to make possible findings. Sonography is also used in further diagnostics such as liver biopsy or chole-cystocentesis. This review describes the basic procedure for the sonographic examination in ruminants and camelids on the basis of selected findings relevant to the clinical veterinarian. In addition, potential and limits of additional diagnostics are discussed.