Diagnosis of Liver Disease in Horses

A spotty appearance of the liver in ultrasound examinations of horses doesn’t necessarily mean the horse has liver disease, according to a study conducted at Texas A&M University. Multiple bright white spots observed on the liver frequently signal serious liver problems in humans, but the “starry sky” ultrasound pattern in horses was accompanied by liver disease in only three of 18 horses examined in the study. However, many of the horses were found to have some primary disease affecting organs other than the liver.

The spots found in horses were determined to be granulomas. Though they were not shown to be diagnostic of liver disease, the researchers concluded that the starry sky pattern does appear to indicate organ disease of some type in horses.