부산대학교 도서관

The aim of this study was to establish an index for evaluating calf thymus gland development using an ultrasound imaging system. We used calves (n=25) within 2 months of age. The thymus score was determined by palpation and cervical thymus cross-sectional area was measured using an ultrasound imaging system. Estimated body weight was obtained using a weight estimation scale. The actual thymus weight was measured at pathological autopsy. Single regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between thymic score, cervical thymic cross-sectional area, and estimated body weight and thymic weight, respectively. The rank correlation coefficients were 0.84, 0.91, and 0.07, respectively, with P values of <0.01, <0.01, and 0.73, respectively. Both the thymic score and cervical thymic cross-sectional area showed sig-nificant correlations with thymic weight, but cervical thymic cross-sectional area was more strongly correlated with thymic weight than thymic score. The cervical thymus cross-sectional area is a continuous variable presented as an objective numerical value. Measurement of the cervical thymus cross-sectional area using an ultrasound imaging system allows anyone to accurately assess the thymus size in calves.