What Can Be Detected by Ultrasound?

When most people think of ultrasound, the first image that comes to mind is usually a pregnant woman looking at her baby on a screen. But ultrasound has grown far beyond that single image. In veterinary medicine and livestock management, ultrasound is now a powerful, versatile tool used daily to assess internal structures, monitor health, and make critical decisions. Whether you’re a cattle rancher, pig farmer, equine breeder, or a mixed-animal vet, understanding what ultrasound can detect opens the door to better care, better timing, and better business outcomes.

Let’s walk through what ultrasound can detect in animals and how it’s being used globally on farms, clinics, and in the field.

Pregnancy Detection in Farm Animals

Early pregnancy detection is probably the most well-known application of ultrasound in livestock. Ultrasound allows farmers to confirm pregnancy as early as 21 days in cattle, 18-24 days in pigs, and about 25 days in sheep and goats. This early diagnosis helps manage breeding cycles, cull open animals early, and avoid unnecessary feeding costs.

In practice, most farmers use a portable device like a B-mode ultrasound with a rectal or abdominal probe. It shows a real-time image of the uterus, allowing the operator to identify fluid, embryonic vesicles, and fetal heartbeat.

This is especially useful in large herds where timing is everything. Knowing which animals are pregnant ensures that feed resources are not wasted on non-productive animals and that you can make decisions on re-breeding or culling with confidence.

Monitoring Fetal Development

Beyond simply confirming pregnancy, ultrasound is invaluable for tracking fetal growth and viability. Farmers and veterinarians in many countries use ultrasound to detect fetal number (especially in pigs and sheep), identify mummified fetuses, and monitor late-term complications like abnormal positioning or uterine fluid levels.

This helps reduce stillbirths and increases the chances of successful delivery. For example, in Europe, some swine producers use ultrasound to determine whether a sow might need assistance during farrowing based on fetal position or size in the final week of gestation.

Reproductive Health Evaluation

Ultrasound is an essential tool in reproductive management. It helps assess the condition of ovaries and uterus in females, detecting issues like ovarian cysts, uterine infections, or retained placenta.

In bulls and boars, ultrasound can be used to evaluate testicular size and health, aiding in fertility assessments. Breeding soundness exams are much more accurate when paired with ultrasonography.

In the U.S. and Australia, cattle ranchers often scan the ovaries of heifers before artificial insemination (AI) to check for dominant follicles or corpus luteum. This ensures the animals are in the optimal stage of their reproductive cycle.

Muscle and Fat Analysis for Growth and Meat Quality

One of the lesser-known but incredibly valuable uses of ultrasound is evaluating muscle and fat deposition in meat animals like beef cattle and pigs.

By scanning the loin area, producers can measure:

• Eye Muscle Area (EMA): A key indicator of muscularity.

• backfat thickness: Tells you how much subcutaneous fat has been laid down.

• Intramuscular Fat (Marbling): Linked to meat tenderness and flavor.

These parameters help determine the optimal time for slaughter and can be used for genetic selection. In the U.S., breed associations use ultrasound measurements to evaluate bulls and heifers for desirable carcass traits.

Ultrasound scanning here is completely non-invasive and repeatable. Farmers using systems like B-mode ultrasound units have reported better feed efficiency and more uniform meat quality across their herds.

Detection of Internal Abnormalities

Veterinarians use ultrasound to diagnose a wide range of internal problems that are hard to detect externally:

• Fluid accumulation (e.g., peritonitis, ascites)

• Bladder stones or urinary tract obstructions

• Liver size and texture changes

• Tumors or abnormal tissue growths

In horses, ultrasound is also used to evaluate tendon and ligament injuries. For athletic animals like racehorses or show animals, this is critical to planning recovery or retirement.

Lung and Thoracic Scanning

Though less common, lung ultrasonography is gaining popularity for detecting pneumonia or pleural effusion in calves and young animals. It offers a non-invasive way to identify lung lesions before clinical signs appear.

In recent years, respiratory health monitoring in feedlots across North America has increasingly relied on thoracic ultrasound. This helps reduce antibiotic overuse and supports earlier intervention.

Gastrointestinal and Rumen Monitoring

In ruminants, ultrasound is also used to observe the rumen, abomasum, or intestines. Vets use it to:

• Check for displaced abomasum (especially in dairy cows)

• Detect impaction or foreign bodies

• Monitor digestive disorders like bloat or acidosis

These conditions are time-sensitive. The ability to diagnose quickly and accurately without surgery is a major advantage.

Ultrasound in Small Animal and Exotic Practice

Ultrasound isn’t just for livestock. Companion animal vets rely on it every day to examine:

• Cardiac function (echocardiography)

• Kidney or liver disease

• Uterine infections (like pyometra)

• Foreign object ingestion

In zoos and wildlife conservation, ultrasound is used to monitor pregnancies in everything from pandas to elephants. The technique is safe, fast, and can be used with minimal restraint, which is ideal for exotic or stressed animals.

How Global Farms Are Embracing Ultrasound

Across the globe, the use of ultrasound is rising steadily. In Brazil, ultrasound scanning has become standard in large beef operations to support genetic selection. In China, pig farms use it for batch pregnancy checks, improving farrowing rates and production planning. In Europe, dairy farmers rely on it for early pregnancy detection and uterine recovery post-calving.

And with portable, rugged systems like the BXL-V50 making high-resolution imaging more affordable and accessible, even small farms are adopting the tech.

Conclusion: More Than Just a Pregnancy Tool

Ultrasound has evolved into a core diagnostic and management tool in modern animal farming. From pregnancy detection to monitoring internal organs and evaluating carcass quality, it’s a window into the invisible—without the need for surgery or stress.

The fact that it’s real-time, mobile, and non-invasive makes it especially suited for use on farms, in barns, and in the field. As livestock management continues to become more data-driven, ultrasound will only play a bigger role in helping producers make better decisions.

Whether you raise cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, or companion animals, ultrasound gives you eyes beneath the surface. And those insights often mean the difference between guessing and knowing—between profit and loss.

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