Abdominal ultrasonography was performed in seven cats with intestinal
lymphoma and four cats with gastric lymphoma. Ultrasonographic abnorma
lities included the presence of a hypoechoic mass associated with the
gastrointestinal tract, focal or diffuse thickening of the gastric wal
l, symmetric thickening of the bowel wall, loss of the normal layered
appearance of the gastrointestinal wall, and abdominal lymphadenopathy
. The thickness of the stomach wall ranged from 8 to 22 mm in cats wit
h gastric lymphoma, and the thickness of the bowel wall ranged from 5
to 20 mm in cats with intestinal lymphoma. Fine needle aspiration of a
gastrointestinal lesion was performed without complication in six cat
s, and was diagnostic for lymphoma in five out of six. Results of this
study indicate that ultrasonography is an effective noninvasive means
of identifying lesions consistent with alimentary lymphoma in cats.