ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Imaging
This article is part of the Research TopicOutstanding Advances in Veterinary Diagnostic Ultrasonography: Novel Milestones in Disease Detection, Prediction, and Treatment - Volume IIView all articles
Ultrasonographic evaluation of adrenal glands in clinically healthy Korean raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides koreensis)
Provisionally accepted
- 1Departement of Veterinary Medical Imaging, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jeonbuk national University, Iksan, Republic of Korea
- 2Laboratory of Exotic and Wild Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jeonbuk National University, iksan, Republic of Korea
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Introduction: Ultrasonographic evaluation of the adrenal glands is a valuable tool for detecting structural abnormalities during clinical assessment. However, no species-specific sonographic reference values have been established for Korean raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides koreensis), limiting the application of this modality in clinical and wildlife settings. Methods: Sagittal ultrasonographic images from 38 clinically healthy Korean raccoon dogs were retrospectively analyzed. Adrenal length and cranial and caudal pole heights were measured bilaterally, with each parameter obtained three times per gland and the median value used for analysis. Gland morphology and corticomedullary distinction were visually assessed, and statistical tests were performed to evaluate differences by sex, body weight, and laterality. Results: All adrenal glands were clearly visualized without sedation and consistently exhibited a peanut-shaped morphology. Mean adrenal lengths were 14.12 ± 2.25 mm on the left and 14.33 ± 1.97 mm on the right. Cranial and caudal pole heights were 3.10 ± 0.44 and 3.26 ± 0.33 mm, respectively, on the left, and 3.19 ± 0.61 and 3.50 ± 0.52 mm, respectively, on the right. Within each gland, the caudal pole was significantly greater in height than the cranial pole. In addition, the right caudal pole height was significantly greater than the left (p = 0.002). No significant associations with sex or body weight were found. Corticomedullary boundaries were visible in 94.7% of left and 76.3% of right adrenal glands. Conclusion: This study provides species-specific ultrasonographic reference values for Korean raccoon dogs, supporting improved interpretation in clinical and conservation medicine.
Keywords: corticomedullary distinction, adrenal ultrasonography, Reference Values, Diagnostic Imaging, Wild canid, wildlife medicine
Received: 25 Aug 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Park, Kim, Han, Lee and Yoon. 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: Hakyoung Yoon
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