Ovulation ultrasound in mares and camels

• The veterinary practitioner and lay ultrasonographer are often faced with ovarian images which have the potential to perplex, as they fall outside what the imagination has created to be a “normal” appearance for the stage being evaluated. Go through the pre-ovulatory stages of a follicle, ovulation itself and the development of the corpus haemorrhagic (“CH”) and/or corpus luteum (“CL). In addition, abnormal ovulations are imaged and reviewed, including Haemorrhagic Anovulatory Follicles (“HAF” - also known as “Anovulatory Haemorrhagic Follicles” or “AHF”) and Luteinized Unruptured Follicles (“LUF”) as well as an evaluation of a large variety of different appearances of the normal, along with explanations.

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• Preovulatory follicle

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  • Beginning of collapse
    
  • 7 seconds later
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• Rent in follicle wall

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• Ovulated 3 hours

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• Ovulated 3.5 hours

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• Ovulated 4 hours
  
  
  
  

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• Ovulated 10 hours earlier
  

• Ovulated 12h
  
  
  

• Twin Follicles ovulated 12h and 4 hours
  

• Ovulated 13h
  

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• Ovulated 14h
  

• Ovulated 18 hours, still similar to fresh ovulation
  

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• Ovulated 20h
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Ovulated 24h
  

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• Ovulated 28h
  
  
  
  
  

• ovulated 29h
  

  

  

  
  Ovulated 30h
  

• Ovulated 32h
  

• Ovulated 36h
  

• Ovulated 38h
  

• 45h CL
  

• Ovulated 46h
  

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• Normal Follicle in early collapse
  

• Partially collapsed adjacent to another follicle
  

• Ovulating: fluid outside rent in wall
  

• Partial collapse: appears like two follicles
  

• Partial collapse into two adjoining cavities
  

• Partial collapse: only narrow communication visible between two cavities
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• Partial collapse
  

  

• Almost total collapse
  

• Very recent ovulation still some fluid retained
  

• Ovulated 13h with residual fluid
  

• Two mature CLs
  

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• Paraovarion cysts
  

  

• Membrane within a single follicle, ovulated normally and may be fertile
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• Follicle beginning to haemorrhage
  

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• Dense haemorrhage into follicle
  

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• Follicular haemorrhage but had ovulated 6h later
  

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• Follicular haemorrhage
  

• Haemorrhagic follicle beginning to organize
  

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• Normal day 6 CL with large lacuna
  

• Normal CL for comparison
  

• Luteinized follicle
  

• Follicle with haemorrhage started 24h ago
  

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• 28h CL
  

• Partially collapsed haemorrhagic follicle
  

• Partially collapsed normal follicle
  

• Normal follicle 6h previously
  

• same follicle 8h later
  

• Haemorrhagic follicle
  

• Luteinised follicle
  

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• Non luteinised follicle
  

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• Regressed without luteinisation
  

• Haemorrhagic follicle without luteinisation
  

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• Apparently normal preovulatory follicle which luteinised without haemorrhage
  

• Thickened follicluar wall
  

• same follicle 4 days later - luteinised follicle functioning as CL
  

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• Persistent 100 mm follicle
  

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• Haemorrhage within a 20mm follicle, did not luteinise
  post??????

• Follicular haemorrhage - luteinised without further growth
  

• What is this?
  
  

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• Varicose? Veins on ovarian surface
  

• Echodense structure: on LO of the same mare , recorded 4 years ago