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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Imaging
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1495606
This article is part of the Research Topic Outstanding Advances in Veterinary Diagnostic Ultrasonography: Novel Milestones in Disease Detection, Prediction, and Treatment View all 8 articles

PRELIMINARY ULTRASONOGRAPHY STUDY OF THE PANCREAS IN THE DROMEDARY CAMEL (Camelus dromedarius)

Provisionally accepted
EL Hassania Lakhel EL Hassania Lakhel 1*Khalid El Allali Khalid El Allali 2Mohamed Rachid Achaaban Mohamed Rachid Achaaban 2Rahma Azrib Rahma Azrib 1
  • 1 Comparative Anatomy Unit, Veterinary Medicine school, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Département de Médecine, Chirurgie et Reproduction, Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco
  • 2 Comparative Anatomy Unit, Veterinary Medicine school, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Département de Pathologie et Santé Publique Vétérinaires, Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Pancreatic lesions in camels can lead to significant economic losses. They are practically undetectable, as clinical signs alone are insufficient for specific diagnosis. Ultrasonography is a valuable diagnostic tool for evaluating the pancreas. However, ultrasonographic reference patterns of the pancreas in the camel have yet to be established. This study aimed to define the ultrasonographic appearance, reference values, location, and acoustic window for evaluating the pancreas in healthy camels. Eight adult and fourteen young Moroccan camels were investigated by ultrasonography using a micro-convex probe with SIUI CTS-900V and Samsung MH70A Doppler ultrasound scanners at 3.5 MHz. The body of the pancreas was scanned just below the right kidney, behind the 12 th rib; ultrasonographic pattern of pancreatic parenchyma appeared as a hyperechoic elongated band, including the portal vein, with a Doppler flow response. The average thickness of the body was 3.60 ± 0.24 cm (n=14) in young camels, significantly lower than in adult camels 4.61±0.26cm (n=8). The right lobe was scanned on the right side, adjacent to the duodenal ampulla and abomasum, beneath the liver along the 11 th , 10 th , and 9 th intercostal spaces. The ultrasonographic pattern of parenchyma appeared as a hyperechoic triangle compared to the liver, including portal and duodenalpancreatic veins, showing a Doppler flow response. The corresponding parenchyma thickness within the three intercostal spaces were respectively 3.93± 0.33cm, 4.40± 0.20 cm, and 3.46±0.39 cm in the young camels (n=14), and 4.99±0.46cm, 5.90± 0.27cm, and 4.11±0.68 cm in the adults (n=8). The pancreatic major duct was seen as an anechoic circle with a hyperechoic wall, with a maximum diameter of 1cm. The left lobe, scanned beneath the cranial extremity of the spleen; its ultrasonographic pattern showed an irregular hypoechoic band with a mean thickness of 2.32±0.32cm (n=14) in young camels and 3.08±0.52cm (n=8) in the adults, including a small splenic vein. In summary, ultrasonography combined with Doppler techniques provides valuable information on pancreatic health, blood flow, and tissue perfusion, aiding early detection of pancreatic diseases and, consequently, minimizing economic losses in camel husbandry.

    Keywords: dromedary, camel, Pancreas, Anatomy, Ultrasonography, References patterns

    Received: 12 Sep 2024; Accepted: 09 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Lakhel, El Allali, Achaaban and Azrib. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: EL Hassania Lakhel, Comparative Anatomy Unit, Veterinary Medicine school, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Département de Médecine, Chirurgie et Reproduction, Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat, Morocco

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