Focal fatty liver in a heifer: utility of ultrasonography in diagnosis

J Vet Med Sci. 2004 Mar;66(3):341-4. doi: 10.1292/jvms.66.341.

Abstract

A 30-month-old Holstein heifer presented with a history of decreased appetite and respiratory signs. Sonographic examination of the liver incidentally revealed an area of increased echogenicity between the portal vein and the gallbladder. The lesion was nonspherical and had no mass effect or displacement of the adjacent vessels. Its boundaries, to the liver, were geographic. The liver specimen was histologically compatible with a diagnosis of focal fatty liver change (FFLC). The sonographic features of focal fatty infiltration of the liver are characteristic. Recognition of the ultrasonographic data is important to differentiate FFLC from other lesions.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cattle
  • Cattle Diseases / diagnostic imaging*
  • Cattle Diseases / pathology*
  • Fatty Liver / diagnostic imaging
  • Fatty Liver / pathology
  • Fatty Liver / veterinary*
  • Ultrasonography