Ultrasonographic examination of the normal caprine neonatal brain

Ultrasonography is a safe, rapid, and non-invasive diagnostic tool that has been previously used for imaging infants and canine neonatal brains. The purpose of the present study was to describe the ultrasonographic appearance of the brain in clinically normal caprine neonates. Ultrasonographic examination was done on 12 day-old goat kids, transverse and sagittal transcranial scans were obtained through the frontal bone. Three image planes were recorded through transverse scans including plane I (level of the caudate nucleus), plane II (level of the rostral diencephalon) and plane III (level of the caudal diencephalon). Parallel post mortem examinations were done for two kids that died a day following examination due to accidental trauma by the dam. Reliable and repeatable ultrasonographic images of the goat kid’s brain were described based on the gross post mortem findings. The head of the caudate nucleus was taken as an anatomical landmark in the plane I where it appeared as a curved hyperechoic structure. In plane II, the longitudinal fissure with its characteristic umbrella-like structure was taken as a landmark, while in plane III, the laterally located hyperechoic hippocampus was taken as a landmark. Normal ultrasonographic examination of the caprine neonatal brain represented the basis for diagnosing congenital brain lesions as well as intracranial hemorrhage.