Ultrasonic B-Mode Examination of the Gallbladder

Abstract

Ultrasonic B-mode examinations were performed in 50 patients in whom shape, size, and pathology of the gallbladder were known. The gallbladder was demonstrated in 92% of patients. Gallstones appeared as clusters of linear echoes which were constant in position in multiple scans. Artifacts resembling gallstones were due to use of excessively high gain settings, failure to identify the limits of the gallbladder, or to respiratory motion. Oral cholecystography should precede cholecystosonography unless a specific reason for avoiding the oral cholecystogram exists, such as jaundice. In patients in whom the gall-bladder was positively identified, diagnosis of gallstones was over 80% accurate.