Biological variability and measurement error variability in ocular biometry in samoyed dogs.

A-scan ultrasonography was performed in 40 healthy Samoyeds aged 2-5 years. Mydriasis and cycloplegia were induced in all dogs and 25 of the dogs were also sedated prior to the ultrasound examination. Five consecutive A-scans were taken on each eye and the intrasubject variance (measurement error) and true intersubject variance (true biological variation) were computed. The true biological variation was found to be of the same magnitude in both sedated and unsedated dogs, whereas the measurement errors were considerably larger in the group of unsedated dogs compared to the sedated ones. Magnitudes of the measurement errors for the anterior chamber depth and length of the vitreous body in the unsedated group were unacceptable. The sizes of the measurement errors in the sedated dogs were all within an acceptable range.