The following page gives examples of diseases you may encounter incidentally when scanning for pregnancy.
Pyometra is an infection of the uterus that requires immediate referral to a veterinarian. Pyometra is a life-threatening emergency, and if you suspect it, you must make sure that your client understands how serious this condition is.
The following example is a French Bulldog, 6 weeks post-mating. At this stage of pregnancy, you would expect to see well-formed fetuses, with clear heartbeats and bone formation. Instead, all you can see here is the uterus filled with fluid. The fluid is clear and black (not cloudy), so luckily the infection was not yet serious, and resolved with a course of antibiotics.
The below example shows a much more advanced case of pyometra. Notice how the fluid here is cloudy and thick (pus). This is a medical emergency – if this had burst, the bitch would go into septic shock and die. This bitch made it to the vet in time, was spayed and thankfully survived.
Ascites is an accumulation of fluid in the abdomen, and common causes in dogs include heart failure, kidney failure, or cancer. If you run a scanning service for others, owners may bring their bitch to you believing that her swollen abdomen is due to pregnancy. If ascites is found, you must immediately refer the animal to a veterinarian.
The next two videos show how ascites often appears on ultrasound, with the small intestines suspended in fluid:
In this example, notice how the liver is surrounded by ascitic fluid:
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