Ultrasonographic findings of the thyroid gland during cold and warm seasons in cats of Ahvaz district

Document Type : Diagnostic Imaging Techniques

Authors

1 1Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Ambient temperature has a significant effect on the thyroid gland function. Thyroid gland can be assessed by ultrasonography and measurement of thyroid hormones. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this survey was normal ultrasonographic findings of thyroid gland in cat in warm (July) and cold (February) seasons. METHODS: The study was conducted on 30 native, adult healthy cats. Thyroid hormones including T3 and T4 were measured in each cat before ultrasonography. After finding thyroid gland, echogenesity, length, width and height of each lobe (right and left) were measured. RESULTS: Both thyroid lobes were scanable and symmetrical on each side. In sagittal plane it had a fusiform shape and in transverse plane it appeared as an oval or roughly triangular structure. The thyroid parenchyma was homogenously echogenic. The echogenecity of the gland was more than the neck muscles and no difference was seen between cold and warm seasons. Dimensions of each lobe were slightly larger in cold season than warm season. The differences in width and volume were significant (p<0.05) but the differences were not significant in length and height (p>0.05). The mean of the length, width, height and volume of both lobes were in normal range for cat with the same weight. Total means of length, width, height (mm) and volume (cm3) of both lobes were 17.2, 2.6, 2.7, and 0.07 in two seasons respectively. Also, the difference was significant in concentration of T3 and T4 hormones between cold and warm seasons, so that thyroid hormone concentrations were higher in cold season than warm season (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It seems that the reduction in air temperature has an extraordinary effect on increasing thyroid gland size and thyroid hormone concentrations in native adult cats in Ahvaz district. This effect can be due to the influence of cold in the increase of body metabolism and thyroid gland function.

Keywords

References

Barberet, V., Baeumlin, Y., Taeymans, O., Duchateau, L., Peremans, K., Van Hoek, I., Daminet, S., Saunders, J.H. (2010) Pre- and posttreatment ultrasonography of the thyroid gland in hyperthyroid cats. Vet Radiol Utrasond. 51: 324-330##
Eswari, S., Viswanathan, S., Leeia, V., Nayeem, M.D., Jajendran, K. (2001) Traits influencing tri-iodothyronine levels in sheep. Indian Vet J. 78: 1000-1002.##
Ghadiri, A., Mosallanejad, B., Avizeh, A., Rajabalipour, M. (2014) Ultrasonographic findings of the thyroid gland in native dogs of Ahvaz district. Iran Vet J. 10: 65-71. ##
Mooney, C.T. (2005) Endocrine disorders. Hyperthyroidism. In: Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Ettinger, S.J., Feldman, E.C. (eds.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier-Saunders, USA. p. 1544-1555.##
Nazifi, S., Gheisari, H. R., Poorabbas, H. (1999) The influences of thermal stress on serum biochemical parameters of dromedary camels and their correlation with thyroid activity. Comp Hematol Int. 9: 49-53.##
Neelis, D.A., Mattoon, J.S., Nyland, T.G. (2015) Neck. In: Small Animal Diagnostic Ultrasound.  Mattoon, J.S., Nyland T.G (eds.). (3rd ed.) Saunders Elsevier, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. p. 161-169.##
Nouri, M., Mirzadeh, K.H., Mohammadian, B. (2006) The effect of ambient temperature on thyroid hormones concentration and histopathological changes of thyroid gland, in sheep. Pak J Biol Sci. 9: 2308-2312.##
Nouri, M., Mohammadian, B., Pourjamshid, R. (2010) An Abattoir Study of Thyroid Histopathology in Ewes and their Fetus in Ahvaz City of Iran. VRF. 1: 50-53.##
Okab, A.B., Elebanna, I.M., Mekkawy, M.Y., Hassan, G.A., Elnouty, F.D., Salem, M.H. (1993) Seasonal-changes in plasma thyroid-hormones, total lipids, cholesterol and serum transaminases during pregnancy and at parturition in Barki and Rahmani ewes. Indian J Anim Sci. 63: 946-951.##
Poulsen Nautrup, C., Tobias, R., Cartee, R.E. (2000) An Atlas and Textbook of Diagnostic Ultrasonography of Dog and Cat. Manson, USA. p. 113-116.##
Prakash, P., Rathore, V.S. (1991) Seasonal variation in blood serum profiles of tri-iodothyronine and thyroxin in goat. Indian J Anim Sci. 61: 1311-1312.##
Rasooli, A., Nouri, M., Khajeh, G.H., Rasekh, A. (2004) The influences of seasonal variations on thyroid activity and some biochemical parameters of cattle. Iran J Vet Res. 5: 55-62.##
Rasooli, A., Jalali, M.T., Nouri, M., Mohammadian, B., Barati, H. (2009) The effect of ambient temperature on thyroid hormonal and histological changes in sheep. J Vet lab. 2: 97-102.##
Slough, C.M., Randolph, G.W. (2006) Workup of well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Cancer Control. 13: 99-105.##
Taeymans, O. (2009) Thyroid Ultrasound in Dogs: a Review. Ultrasound. 17: 137-143.##
Taeymans, O., Peremans, K., Saunders, J.H. (2007) Thyroid imaging in the dog: current status and future directions. J Vet Intern Med. 21: 673-684.##
Wisner, E.R., Nyland, T.G., Mattoon, J.S. (1994) Ultrasonographic examination of cervical masses in the dog and cat. J Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 35: 310-315.##
Wisner, E.R., Nyland, T.G. (1998) Ultrasonography of the thyroid and parathyroid glands. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 28: 973-991.##
Yagil, Z., Etzion, A., Ganani, J. (1978) Camel thyroid metabolism: Effect of season and dehydration. J Appl Physiol. 45: 540-544.##
Zwingenberger, A., Wisner, E. (2008) Neck. In: Atlas of Small Animal Ultrasonography. Penninck, D., d’Anjou, M. (eds.). (1st ed.) Blackwell publishing, Iowa, USA. p. 91-117.##
Journal of Veterinary Research
Volume 73, Issue 2
June 2018
Pages 223-229

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics