Thirty-two crossbreeds (Philippine Carabao x Bulgarian Murrah) of buffalo calves weighing 18-125 kg, with age range of one day to six- months, were classified according to sex and examined using an ul..
Thirty-two crossbreeds (Philippine Carabao x Bulgarian Murrah) of buffalo calves weighing 18-125 kg, with age range of one day to six- months, were classified according to sex and examined using an ultrasound machine equipped with a multi-frequency scanner at 3rd to 5th ICS, right parasternal long axis view. Cardiac structures were described using B- mode, measurements were obtained using M-mode echocardiography and blood flow was measured and characterized using pulsed-wave Doppler and color flow Doppler, respectively. The different heart chamber walls and septa appeared as hypoechoic bands while the atria, ventricles and aorta were visualized as anechoic lumen. There were no significant differences observed in M-mode echocardiographic parameters between sexes. Fractional shortening and ejection were higher in females than in males, but male buffalo calves exhibited higher left ventricular volumes and stroke volume than females. Weak positive correlation was seen between different M-mode indices and body weight of the animals. There was no relationship observed between the age of the animals and the echocardiographic parameters. Left ventricular velocity was measured using Pulsed-wave Doppler and results showed slightly higher mean values of males (30.1 ± 5.9) than females (29.2 ± 4.7). Color-wave Doppler revealed no abnormalities in direction and character of blood flow.