Sectional anatomy of the pelvis in the male rat with ultrasound correlations.

Ten-week-old male Wistar rats were used for sectional anatomy and ultrasonic diagnosis of the pelvis. The prostate and the urinary bladder were identified easily on longitudinal section by ultrasound examination. The prostate (ventral, lateral, and dorsal lobes) was located in the midline of the pelvis cavity on transverse sections and the caudal side of the urinary bladder on longitudinal sections. The urinary bladder was positioned at the cranial side of the prostate on longitudinal sections and in the midline of the pelvis cavity on transverse sections. The seminal vesicles were located at right and left positions of the urinary bladder. Ultrasonic diagnosis was estimated to be useful for experimental studies and we hope that ultrasound techniques may reduce the number of rats used for the treatment of prostate and urinary bladder cancers.