Possibilities and limitations of ultrasonic diagnosis of space occupying lesions in internal medicine.

Possibilities and limitations of ultrasonic tumour diagnosis in internal medicine (thyroid gland, liver, pancreas, kidney, malignant lymphomas) are discussed on the basis of a five years experience with about 4,000 examinations a year. A real time and gray-scale technique is used. The accuracy of the presented ultrasonic findings is proven by comparative studies. Besides the well known advantages of ultrasonography the independence from contrast medias must be stressed in comparison to diagnostic radiology. The main limitations of ultrasonography are the impossibility of diagnosing tumours smaller than 1.5-2 cm and the absence of an ultrasonic pattern typical of malignancy. To establish a morphobiological diagnosis, ultrasonically guided fine needle biopsy has proved to be a reliable method.