Diagnosis of intracranial neoplasia by transcranial ultrasound in two pet rats (Rattus norvegicus)

This article describes the use of transcranial ultrasound for confirmation of intracranial neoplasia in two pet rats. The diagnosis was confirmed by means of a contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan in one case, and postmortem examination and histopathology in the other. Pituitary adenoma is a common condition in rats and, until now, advanced diagnostic imaging, such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, was required to support a presumptive diagnosis of an intracranial mass based on anamnesis and clinical signs. Despite some limitations of image quality, ultrasound provided images of diagnostic quality in both cases in this study. Compared to computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, transcranial ultrasound is a less expensive, less time consuming and more readily available diagnostic imaging technique that can be valuable to aid diagnosis of intracranial tumours in pet rats.