Ocular Ultrasonography and Biometry in the Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus)

To establish reference standards for ocular ultrasound and biometry, 24 cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus) (45 eyes) underwent B-mode and A-mode ultrasonographic examination using a 12.5-MHz probe. The vultures were manually restrained without sedation, and the eyes were topically anesthetized. Biometry was performed in the sagittal plane for axial length of the globe (AGL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness (LT), and vitreous chamber depth (VCD). Biometry of the pecten oculi (LP) was measured on images of transversal scan at 9 hours. Biometric findings were as follows: AGL=27.74 ± 0.77 mm, ACD=3.73 ± 0.62 mm, LT=5.41 ± 0.18 mm, VCD=18.60 ± 0.58 mm, and LP=10.21 ± 1.19 mm. No correlation was found between body weight and AGL. Right and left globe sizes were not significantly different, but AGL and VCD were significantly longer (P < .05) in male than in female vultures. Including diagnostic protocols such as ocular ultrasound may improve the ophthalmologic care of endangered raptors injured by blunt trauma, when opacities of the ocular media prevent examination of the internal ocular structures.