Abdominal ultrasound can be used to diagnose abnormalities in various internal organs, such as the
kidneys,
liver,
gallbladder,
pancreas,
spleen and
abdominal aorta. If
Doppler ultrasonography is added, the
blood flow inside
blood vessels can be evaluated as well (for example, to look for
renal artery stenosis). It is commonly used to examine the
uterus and
fetus during
pregnancy; this is called
obstetric ultrasonography. Abdominal ultrasound is commonly used in the setting of
abdominal pain or an
acute abdomen (sudden and/or severe abdominal pain syndrome in which surgical intervention might be necessary), in which it can diagnose
appendicitis or
cholecystitis. Ultrasound can also be used if there is suspicion of enlargement of one or more organs, such as used in screening for
abdominal aortic aneurysm, investigation for
splenomegaly or
urinary retention. Ultrasound can be used for additional anatomical information for patients with an abnormal
kidney function or
pancreatic enzymes (
pancreatic amylase and
pancreatic lipase). It can be used on the abdominal aorta to detect or exclude abdominal aortic aneurysm. For this purpose, the standard aortic measurement for abdominal aortic aneurysm is between the outer margins of the aortic wall. However, because spleen size varies greatly, ultrasonography is not a valid technique for assessing spleen enlargement and should not be used in typical circumstances or to make routine decisions about fitness for playing sports. In patients with deranged liver function tests, ultrasound may show increased liver size (
hepatomegaly), increased reflectiveness (which might, for example, indicate
cholestasis), gallbladder or
bile duct diseases, or a
tumor in the liver.
Ultrasonography of liver tumors involves two stages: detection and characterization. Tumor detection is based on the performance of the method and should include morphometric information (three axes dimensions, volume) and topographic information (number, location specifying liver segment and lobe/lobes). The specification of these data is important for staging liver tumors and prognosis. Tumor characterization is a complex process based on a sum of criteria leading towards tumor nature definition. Often, other diagnostic procedures, especially interventional ones, are no longer necessary. Tumor characterization using the ultrasound method will be based on the following elements: consistency (solid, liquid, mixed),
echogenicity, structure appearance (homogeneous or heterogeneous), delineation from adjacent liver parenchyma (capsular, imprecise), elasticity, posterior acoustic enhancement effect, the relation with neighboring organs or structures (displacement, invasion), vasculature (presence and characteristics on
Doppler ultrasonography and
contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).
Renal ultrasonography (right side) Ultrasonography of the kidneys is essential in the diagnosis and management of kidney-related diseases. The kidneys are easily examined, and most pathological changes in the kidneys are distinguishable with ultrasound. ==Technique==