Hippopotamidae

Diagnostic imaging of two genera within the Hippopotamidae family, the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) and the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) is covered in this chapter. Barriers or protected contact should be used when working with juvenile and adult common hippopotamus and adult pygmy hippopotamus. The inability to share space can limit diagnostic image acquisition. The hippopotamus skeleton is adapted to their semiaquatic lifestyle and ability to walk along the river beds and lake bottoms. The hippopotamus stomach consists of four chambers like other pseudoruminants. The pygmy hippopotamus kidney contains many lobes and a deeply folding cortex and is similar to that of the common hippopotamus. A high incidence of polycystic kidney disease in pygmy hippopotamus is well documented. Similar to the pygmy hippopotamus, conditioning the common hippopotamus to stand for transrectal US is considered valuable.