Objective To investigate the feasibility of applying high-frequency ultrasound to measure precisely the carotid artery wall thickness and characterize its blood flow distribution in rabbits.Methods Nine male Japanese big-ear rabbits were included in this study.High-frequency ultrasonography was applied to determine the inner diameter,intima-media thickness,systolic peak flow rate, pulsatility index,resistence index and blood flow volume in the carotid artery.The rabbits were sacrificed and the carotid artery was taken for histopathological examination.The carotid artery intima-media thickness and inner diameter were measured on histological sections and compared with those determined by ultrasounography.Results In the blood vessel longitudinal section,with moderately echo and distinct verge,the common carotid artery looked like a parallel tubiform.In the lumen,the blood flow signal was moderate to strong,and the Doppler frequency ultrasonography showed triphasic wave type,changed quickly into red-blue-red form.The ultrasound results were highly correlated with pathological ones(r = 0.84).Conclusion High resolution ultrasoography can be applied in measurement of atherosclerotic lesions in the experimental rabbit model studies with a lot of merits such as simplicity,directly visual,non-traumatic and reprocibility,etc.