Small-parts real-time sonography: a new "water path".

A new commercially available gel material was used as a convenient and inexpensive water path. It enabled conventional real-time equipment with 3.5- or 5-MHz transducers to yield satisfactory results during superficial and small-parts examinations.

Sonography of the patellar tendon: preliminary observations.

A technique using linear-array real-time sonography was used to study patellar tendon and adjacent muscular injuries. Of 65 subjects examined, normal patellar tendon sonographic anatomy was defined in 32. Of 33 patients with sonographic abnormalities, 15 had pathologic correlation. Two patients had focal degenerative tendonitis, and nine had diffuse dystrophic change. There were three cases of intratendinous hematoma and one of mucoid degeneration. These results demonstrate accurate differentiation of the normal from the abnormal tendon. In many instances, particularly when a focal lesion is present, the sonogram is as or more diagnostic than the radiographic and physical examinations.

Ultrasonography in the evaluation of muscular trauma.

Ultrasonography was performed to assess muscle injuries in 120 advanced-level athletes. Real-time sonography was chosen for evaluation since it allowed a comparison between the muscles at rest and during contraction. Pathologic patterns are reported and compared with the normal ultrasonic muscular anatomy. Twenty-five subjects were referred for surgery. All lesions had abnormal sonograms, and these were correctly described in 21 cases (84 per cent). Ultrasonic investigation is a reliable, useful method to confirm, locate and evaluate traumatic muscular lesions and to assess the need for surgical repair.