Sickinger M, Allugami A, von Pückler K, Failing K, Wehrend A
Clinic for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Andrology of Large and Small Animals with Ambulatory Services, Frankfurter Str. 106, 35392 Giessen, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany.
Clinic for Small Animals, Department of Surgery, Frankfurter Str. 108, 35392 Giessen, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany.
Pol J Vet Sci. 2019 Mar;22(1):127-132. doi: 10.24425/pjvs.2019.127079.
Early castration of male small ruminants is regarded as a risk factor for urolithiasis, although the underlying correlations are still unclear. One possible reason is a deferred development of the penis and the urethra after castration. Therefore, we examined the penis and urethra of castrated and intact lambs by ultrasonography to determine the correlation between urethral area and pe- nile cross-sectional area. Ultrasonography was performed in 6-month-old Lacaune crossbred lambs (early castrated, late castrated, and intact; each group, n = 11). Sectional images at 5 loca- tions (glans penis, penile urethra, distal and proximal sigmoid flexure, and ischial arch) were ob- tained to determine the urethral and penile diameters. Urethral and penile cross-sectional areas were calculated. Grey-scale analysis of ultrasound images was performed to evaluate possible differences in the penile texture between the groups. Correlation analyses between both cross-sectional areas showed a significant general correlation for location 2 in all lambs (R = 0.52; P = 0.003), for location 3 in late-castrated lambs, and for location 5 in early-castrated lambs. Statistically significant correlations between the penile and the urethral area of castrated and intact lambs were not evident. Therefore, measurement of the penile cross-sectional area alone does not allow for accurate estimation of urethral size. Statistically significant differences con- cerning the grey-scale analysis between the groups were also not detectable. Thus, simplification of the formerly presented ultrasonographic examination of the urethra is not recommended. In animals at a risk of obstructive urolithiasis, complete urethral examina- tion is essential.
雄性小反刍动物早期去势被视为尿石症的一个风险因素，尽管其潜在关联仍不清楚。一个可能的原因是去势后阴茎和尿道发育延迟。因此，我们通过超声检查去势和未去势羔羊的阴茎和尿道，以确定尿道面积与阴茎横截面积之间的相关性。对6月龄的拉库内杂交羔羊（早期去势、晚期去势和未去势；每组n = 11）进行超声检查。在5个位置（阴茎头、阴茎尿道、远侧和近侧乙状弯曲以及坐骨弓）获取断层图像，以确定尿道和阴茎直径。计算尿道和阴茎的横截面积。对超声图像进行灰度分析，以评估各组之间阴茎质地的可能差异。两个横截面积之间的相关性分析显示，所有羔羊的位置2（R = 0.52；P = 0.003）、晚期去势羔羊的位置3以及早期去势羔羊的位置5均存在显著的总体相关性。去势和未去势羔羊的阴茎和尿道面积之间无明显的统计学显著相关性。因此，仅测量阴茎横截面积无法准确估计尿道大小。各组之间在灰度分析方面也未检测到统计学显著差异。因此，不建议简化之前提出的尿道超声检查。对于有梗阻性尿石症风险的动物，完整的尿道检查至关重要。
