Ruminant Pings

Pings are areas of resonance that develop at a gas-fluid interface. When the area is percussed (tapped firmly), a high pitched sound can be heard through a stethoscope.  They are not heard in normal animals. Hear a great ping at the UPenn dairy case site.

Left sided pings

•  Rumen – high horizontal ping. Can be heard with pinging the transverse processes
•  LDA – ping at angle from the hip bones to the elbow. Is not heard when pinging the transverse processes
  • If it stays low, there are likely adhesions preventing the gas from floating up
• Uterus (bilateral) – caudal ping
• Pneumoperitoneum (bilateral) – high ping (gas floats)

Right sided pings

• duodenum – crosses the paralumbar fossa and forward under the last two rib spaces. Can be quite large and difficult to differentiate from other pings
• abomasum- on an angle from the hip bones to the elbow. Abomasal volvulus and RDAs have the same ping
• small intestine – multiple tones in the paralumbar fossa
• cecum- large ping extending horizontally below the transverse processes; can extend up to 3 feet long
• spiral colon – multiple tones in the paralumbar fossa
• uterus (bilateral)- caudal ping
• pneumoperitoneum (bilateral)- high ping
• rectum (post palpation)- caudal ping