The use of ultrasonic tomography to measure the calibers of the iliac arteries and veins and the caliber and length of the inferior vena cava and the abdominal aorta.

One hundred eighty healthy subjects (90 men, 90 women; age range: 55 to 80 years) with no known cardiovascular disease were studied by ultrasonography. In each, the following measurements were obtained: the caliber and length of the abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava, and the caliber of the common iliac arteries and veins. The mean length of the inferior vena cava was found to be 95.2 mm, its mean caliber 18.4 mm. The mean length of the aorta was 83.1 mm, and its mean caliber was 15.9 mm. The mean caliber of the common iliac veins was 9.7 mm, while that of the common iliac arteries was 8.8 mm. There was a statistically significant relationship between vessel caliber and subject age; furthermore, the vessel caliber of the male subjects was found to be larger than that of the females by a statistically significant margin. There was also a statistically significant correlation between subject height and the length of the two major vessels; however, no statistically significant correlations were noted between the measured parameters and body weight. In comparison with the values reported in the standard textbooks and by contemporary cadaveric studies, our measurements of mean aortic and vena caval calibers were significantly lower. When the two side were compared, a statistically significant difference was noted only in the iliac arteries, where the right was larger than the left.