A Proficient Prostate Protocol

Greetings Scan Squad! 

Do you struggle to find the prostate? If so, you’re one of many, so please do not feel alone!

My first question always is: are you sure it’s a boy? 

Just kidding, it’s: can you find the urinary bladder? 

If you can find the urinary bladder, you can find the prostate, in a dog. Of course male cats also have a prostate, but it is very difficult to find on ultrasound and I wouldn’t recommend that you waste your time looking! 

To find the prostate:

• Position your probe in longitudinal (probe marker facing cranially) and find the urinary bladder

• Slide caudally to the trigone where the bladder narrows/tapers to the urethra

• Keep your probe centrally over the trigone so that you can see the proximal urethra exiting the bladder 

• Then slide slowly caudally again, keeping the urethra in view - the prostate is usually only a few centimetres caudal to the urinary bladder and you can usually still see the bladder in the cranial portion of your image

• Scan in both longitudinal and transverse views

• Remember the prostate will look different in castrated vs entire patients (see below)

Don’t forget to do a rectal to feel the prostate! The only reason you shouldn’t be doing a rectal is if you don’t have a finger or the dog doesn’t have an anus! 

Happy scanning!

Longitudinal view of the prostate in a castrated dog. Note the proximity of the urinary bladder (UB).

The longitudinal view of the prostate in this 9 MO ME Corgi shows a larger, more hyperechoic prostate. These changes are consistent with his entire status. The UB is still visible!