Estimation of the volume of the gall bladder of 32 dogs from linear ultrasonographic measurements

The maximum length and depth of the longitudinal section, and the maximum width and depth of the transverse section of the gall bladders of 32 dog cadavers were measured ultrasonographically; the contents of the gall bladder were then aspirated and its actual volume measured. The volume of the gall bladder was estimated from the ultrasonographic measurements by using formulae suggested for assessment of the volumes of the urinary bladder in human beings and the gall bladder of dogs, and these formulae were compared with a formula derived from the measurements made in this study. In 21 of the dogs, the measurements were repeated twice so that their reproducibility could be evaluated. All the formulae gave good estimations of the volume of the dogs' gall bladders, but the formula for the human urinary bladder volume was better than the other two. The actual volume of the gall bladder was related to the dogs' bodyweight. There were no significant differences between the repeated measurements of the maximum length and depth of the longitudinal section or the width of the transverse section of the gall bladder, but there were significant variations in the depth of the transverse section.