RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Measurement of testicular artery blood flow is used in several species to evaluate reproductive function and testicular and scrotal pathology. In dogs there are inconsistent reports about normal flow in post-pubertal dogs and no information concerning pre-pubertal dogs. The aim of this study was to describe regional differences in testicular artery blood flow in clinically normal post-pubertal and pre-pubertal dogs with no history of reproductive tract disease. RESULTS: The post-pubertal dogs produced normal ejaculates throughout the study. In all dogs the three different regions of the artery were imaged and monophasic flow with an obvious systolic peak and flow throughout diastole was observed on every occasion. The highest peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end diastolic velocity (EDV) were measured within the distal supra-testicular artery and marginal artery whilst the lowest PSV and EDV were measured within the intra-testicular arteries. Flow measurements were not different between left and right testes and were consistent between dogs on different examination days. Calculated resistance index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) were lowest in the intra-testicular arteries. The pre-pubertal dogs had significantly smaller testes than the post-pubertal dogs (p < 0.05) and were unable to ejaculate during the study. The three different artery regions were imaged at every examination time point, and flow profiles had a similar appearance to those of the post-pubertal dogs. PSV, EDV, RI and PI showed a similar trend to the post-pubertal dogs in that values were lowest in the intra-testicular arteries. Notably, values of PSV, EDV, RI and PI were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in pre-pubertal dogs compared with post-pubertal dogs. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated important regional and pubertal differences in testicular artery blood flow of dogs, and form the basis for establishing baseline reference values that may be employed for the purposes of clinical diagnosis.