Imaging the hamster flank organ by an ultrasonic technique: a new approach to animal tests.

Images of the hamster flank organ were obtained in vivo by high resolution ultrasound (B-scan). The planimetric measurements of the ultrasonic image that determined the size of the flank organ, with a reproducibility of about 10%, highly correlated with the measurements of histological sections. This new method provides a simple and non-invasive method for determining the size of the hamster flank organ after various treatments which does not involve the killing of the animal under investigation.