Doppler Ultrasonography Assessment of Uterine Artery Blood Flow Throughout Late Pregnancy in Awassi Ewes

Abstract

Monitoring uterine blood flow during pregnancy provides information about fetal development. The aim of this study was to determine changes in uterine artery blood flow in the second half of pregnancy in Awassi sheep. The study included a total of 20 sheep with a single pregnancy, separated into 4 groups according to the period of the pregnancy, as 90-105-120-135 days. By monitoring the uterine artery blood flow with Doppler ultrasound, measurements were taken of the pulsatilite index (PI), resistance index (RI), end diastolic velocity (EDV), peak systolic velocity (PSV), systolic/diastolic ratio (S/D), and time-averaged peak (TAP). The data obtained were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA (variance analysis). Throughout the pregnancy periods, a time-related significant difference was seen between the groups in respect of the PSV, EDV, TAP, PI, RI, and S/D values (p