Abdominal vascular sonography.

This is an introductory article on abdominal vascular ultrasound in dogs. An overview of the hemodynamics of venous and arterial blood flow and Doppler principles, spectral analysis, and velocity waveforms is given. The anatomic and Doppler features of major abdominal vessels that can be examined routinely with ultrasonography are discussed. Select cases of vascular pathology affecting various abdominal vessels in the dog and cat are described.