Ultrasonographic features of grass awns in the urinary bladder

Grass awns are a common cause of foreign body disease in animals, but little is known about their presence in the lower urinary tract. The ultrasonographic features of grass awns in vivo and in vitro have been described in detail. The purpose of this report is to describe the clinical and sonographic features of grass awns in the urinary bladder of dogs and cats. Three male Yorkshire terriers (one of which was examined twice) and one female domestic short-haired cat were evaluated for signs of lower urinary tract disease, and an intravesicular grass awn was suspected based on ultrasound examination. The grass awn appeared ultrasonographically as a bladder stone (n = 1) or a linear hyperechoic structure (n = 4) with or without acoustic shadowing that was easy to identify due to contrast with surrounding urine. The presence of a grass awn within the urinary bladder was confirmed during exploratory surgery. In all patients, the route of entry of the grass awn was thought to have been retrograde migration from the urethral opening. The ultrasonographic appearance of grass awns in the bladder is consistent with that in other tissues.