Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Botucatu, Brazil.
Municipal Zoological Park 'Quinzinho de Barros', Sorocaba, Brazil.
Anat Histol Embryol. 2024 Jan;53(1):e12996. doi: 10.1111/ahe.12996. Epub 2023 Nov 28.
This study aimed to describe sonographic features of the liver, gallbladder and hepatic histogram from grey-scale ultrasound in three species of healthy non-venomous snakes. Twenty-eight adult snakes were enrolled in the study, including 10 common boas (Boa constrictor), eight black-tailed pythons (Python molurus) and 10 rainbow boas (Epicrates crassus). The snakes fasted for 30 days and were manually restrained while conscious. For B. constrictor and P. molurus the liver and gallbladder were best visualized in ventral recumbency, and E. crassus in dorsal recumbency. A single elongated hepatic lobe was identified in all snakes. The gallbladder was positioned caudal and separated from the liver, with an oval shape and homogeneous anechoic content in the lumen, and thin and regular walls. A region of interest by pixel number was chosen for the liver, fat bodies, left kidney, and splenopancreas. The mean grey level (G) of the organs had significant differences within each species. Standard deviation of grey levels (S ) had significant differences within B. constrictor and E. crassus. P. molurus had no significant difference among organs. The comparison among snakes showed that E. crassus had G of liver and splenopancreas lower than B. constrictor and P. molurus. The S of the liver in E. crassus was lowest compared to B. constrictor and P. molurus. P. molurus showed the highest values in mean of G and S . In conclusion, despite the liver and gallbladder having similar sonographic features, the grey-level histogram showed that liver echotexture and echogenicity differ among species.
本研究旨在描述三种健康无毒蛇的灰阶超声肝脏、胆囊和肝直方图的超声特征。28 条成年蛇被纳入研究，包括 10 条普通蟒（Boa constrictor）、8 条黑尾蟒（Python molurus）和 10 条彩虹蟒（Epicrates crassus）。蛇禁食 30 天，并在清醒时手动约束。对于 B. constrictor 和 P. molurus，肝脏和胆囊在腹卧位最佳可视化，而 E. crassus 在背卧位最佳可视化。所有蛇均识别出单个狭长的肝叶。胆囊位于尾部下方，与肝脏分开，呈椭圆形，腔内呈均匀无回声，壁薄且规则。通过像素数选择肝、脂体、左肾和脾胰感兴趣区。各器官的平均灰度（G）在每个物种内均有显著差异。灰度标准偏差（S）在 B. constrictor 和 E. crassus 内有显著差异。P. molurus 各器官之间无显著差异。蛇之间的比较表明，E. crassus 的肝脏和脾胰 G 值低于 B. constrictor 和 P. molurus。与 B. constrictor 和 P. molurus 相比，E. crassus 的肝脏 S 最低。P. molurus 的 G 和 S 的平均值最高。总之，尽管肝脏和胆囊具有相似的超声特征，但灰度直方图显示肝脏回声纹理和回声强度在不同物种之间存在差异。
