How big is the normal liver?

Ultrasonographic determinations of the craniocaudal dimension of the liver in the right midcalvicular line were performed on 96 healthy subjects. These values were compared to those obtained in the same individuals by two techniques of percussion, as well as the values for hepatic dullness predicted for those individuals using a popular nomogram. It was found that the traditional nomogram values, and both techniques of percussion, tended to underestimate this dimension of the liver as determined by ultrasound.