This course is designed to be the continuation of the basic course. Where the basic course focuses on the ultrasound machine and normal anatomy, the intermediate course will focus on the common abnormal pathology seen in the abdomen. An overview lecture covering the ultrasound machine and a normal ultrasound examination will be covered as a review, but the pathology of the liver, spleen, kidneys, adrenal glands, pancreas, urinary bladder and gastrointestinal tract are the main focus of this course.

In this 3-day course 12 hours are spent in the laboratory practicing a complete examination on dogs and cats as well as working on any difficulties you have on your image acquisition. Care will be spent teaching image optimization and image acquisition under expert guidance making sure you optimize your hands-on experience. When you are finished this course, you will understand the advantages and limitations of ultrasound as well as optimizing your examination to ensure that you have the best chance to find the pathology that is present within the abdomen when you return to your clinic.

The participant will understand how to perform a complete systematic ultrasound examination of the abdomen.

The participant will see the general pathologic changes identified on ultrasound in each organ and learn the limitations and benefits that ultrasound provides to help identify abnormalities.

The participant will have additional practice finding the adrenal glands and pancreas in dogs and cats.

The participant will learn and develop a complete approach for evaluating the normal gastrointestinal tract.

Case examples will be used to illustrate the appearance of common diseases of the liver and spleen, gastrointestinal tract, urogenital tract, and the pancreas and adrenal glands.

Expected differences between normal dog and cat ultrasound anatomy and pathology will be reviewed.

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