[Clinical electroretinography in the dog. Part 3]

In this last part the preparation of the patient for the ERG is shown. Anesthesia, positioning, and retrobulbar injection technique are discussed. The protocol for recording the ERG is presented. The dog is dark adapted for 30 minutes. The level of adaptation is examined using a single flash of dim red light at various times. Rods and cones are stimulated separately by scotopically balanced red and blue flashes. After a single flash of bright white light the rods and cones are studied with flicker trains at 5, 12.5, 15 and 30 Hz. During dark adaptation the maximum b-wave amplitude increased from 13.8 +/- 8.4 microV to 49.3 +/- 16.3 microV. Bright white light stimuli resulted in b-wave amplitudes of 167.7 +/- 75.3 microV. There were always 6 oscillatory potentials visible on the b-wave. Scotopically balanced stimuli produced b-waves of 104 microV (red) and 116 microV (blue). It was found that older dogs had reduced b-wave amplitudes and longer peak times than younger dogs. The most common artefacts in electroretinography are discussed.