ABSTRACT
The main purpose of noninvasive high-resolution B-mode sonography of the extracranial carotid artery is to detect clinically relevant arteriosclerotic lesions. That is the reason why reproducible parameters are needed for the description of normal and pathological echo patterns of the vascular lumen and the vascular wall. From an experimental evaluation of 100 carotid specimens examined with a high resolution real time scanner a list of definitions for sonomorphologic parameters is derived. These parameters refer to the clinical importance of luminal and intramural changes. Because of its high sensitivity for even minimal arteriosclerotic lesions, B-mode sonography is a useful method for clinical and epidemiological studies of extracranial carotid disease.
Subject(s)
Brain Ischemia/diagnosis , Carotid Artery Diseases/diagnosis , Ultrasonography/methods , Carotid Artery Thrombosis/diagnosis , Constriction, Pathologic/diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , Echoencephalography/methods , Humans , Intracranial Arteriosclerosis/diagnosis , RheologyABSTRACT
Benign and malignant extra- and intratesticular lesions were experimentally induced in the testes of Wistar rats so as to evaluate the significance of high-resolution ultrasonography for the early detection of intratesticular malignancy. The animals were studied using high-resolution sonography (mean frequency = 8 MHz) over 6 weeks. Walker carcinomas could be induced in the testicle in 50% of the cases; 8 of 17 showed a locally limited growth. Tumors over 2 mm in diameter showed a typical change in the normal sonographic pattern of the testes. The overall sensitivity of high-resolution sonography for intratesticular lesions was 88%, the specificity 91%. The detection of small intratesticular lesions has made high-resolution sonography superior to conventional sonographic techniques and may therefore prove to be of major clinical significance.
