Ultrasonographic measurements of the prostate gland in castrated adult dogs

Background The dimensions of the prostatic gland in castrated adult dogs, as assessed by ultrasonography, is currently not yet reported in veterinary literature. The current study was aimed at reporting the prostatic dimensions in castrated dogs and investigate the relationship between the dogs' body weight and prostate size. A second aim of the study was to investigate whether there was a relationship between the dogs' age and prostate dimensions. A prospective, single-centre, observational study was conducted and 72 privately owned, adult, male castrated dogs with a range of breeds and ages met the final inclusion criteria. The subjects were divided into three categories based on body weight. Results A Kruskal-Wallis test found prostatic length and prostatic depth in the longitudinal orientation to be significantly different among the 3 categories (P < 0.005), with an increase in both prostatic length and prostatic depth with increasing body weight. Linear regression of the data set provided comprehensive formulas calculating prostatic length and depth based on the body weight of the dog (r.sup.2 of 0.69 and 0.53 for prostatic length and depth respectively). Kendall's Tau rank test showed no correlation between dogs' age and prostate dimensions (P > 0.100). Conclusions The current study is the first to provide a comprehensive, weight-based reference for the canine prostate gland of castrated dogs when assessed on ultrasonography. Keywords: Castrated canines, Prostatic dimensions, Ultrasonography