The role of ultrasonography for diagnosis the renal masses in children. Pictorial essay.

In children abdominal masses usually arises from the kidney and urinary tract. The reasons for patient's presentation may be abdominal pain, palpable abdominal mass (usually discovered during the physical exam) and hematuria. Ultrasonography should be the first imaging investigation performed in children with an abdominal mass. It can be performed safely regardless of the clinical status of the patient, it is noninvasive and painless, requires no radiological contrast media and it is a relatively inexpensive. Ultrasonography is usually able to give an accurate localization of the lesion to a specific area or organ of the abdomen and provides good differentiation of solid from fluid or blood-filled masses. The purpose of this pictorial essay is to demonstrate the ultrasonographic features of the most frequently encountered reno-urinary masses in children.