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Abstract:
Doppler ultrasound can provide important information about vascular problems through the analysis of blood flow wave-form. The purpose of this study was obtaining the normal images of color Doppler and estimation of blood flow velocity parameters of femoral artery in rabbits. Left and right femoral arteries of 8 healthy adult New Zealand rabbits were evaluated. Color and spectral doppler images of the artery were obtained. Values of peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), resistive index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) were measured. Color doppler showed a laminar flow with aliasing artifact in the center of flow due to higher velocity. Moderate to high resistance flow pattern with diphasic flow velocity and blunted profile were observed in spectral wave-form analysis of pulsed doppler. Results of this study may be useful as baseline in haemodynamic evaluation of femoral artery and evaluation of diseases such as thromboembolism and arterial stenosis in rabbits as an animal model.
Key words: ultrasonography, color doppler, pulse-waved doppler, femoral artery, rabbit.