Contact: Tania Banak, University Relations Specialist
608/263-6716, banakt@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu
Date issued: July 18, 2008
MADISON – In an effort to better diagnose intestinal problems in pet ferrets, radiologists at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine are first doing ultrasound examinations on clinically normal ferrets to establish normal values.
“By establishing normal intestinal wall thickness in a population of normal ferrets we’ll be able to identify thickened intestines, which may indicate disease states in sick ferrets,” says Dr. Lisa Forrest, a radiologist at the school.
The school’s radiology service has already done ultrasound examinations of 45 ferrets obtained from Ferret Underground, a Madison-based ferret owners networking organization that provides information to ferret owners.
“We are measuring the wall thickness of the duodenum and two sections of jejunum,” Dr. Forrest says.
Based on the measurements they obtain, they will establish a normal range for these values. Then, when ferrets with thickened intestinal walls are encountered in the future, that will be a red flag signaling the potential for conditions such as intestinal lymphoma or inflammatory bowel disease.
The study is non-invasive. Ferrets are awake during the exam, with minimal restraint. Warm water is used to wet down the fur and as a coupling agent for the ultrasound probe. They are bribed with a treat to submit to the ultrasound examination.
The healthy ferrets for this brief imaging study were brought in to the school’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital by Sue Holme, of Ferret Underground. Many were rescued from questionable circumstances.
Second-year veterinary medical student Ewan Wolff, who is participating in a summer scholars program at the School of Veterinary Medicine under Dr. Forrest’s mentorship, and Fern Delaney, a registered diagnostic medical sonographer and ultrasound technician at the school, assisted with the study. Dr. Carla Christman, a veterinarian and owner of Healthy Pet Veterinary Clinic, conducted pre-exam blood draws on the ferrets to establish baseline data to be used in conjunction with the ultrasounds.