In its ehost structure, the pancreas is very similar to the liver. It is dominated by small, evenly distributed echoes on the body. Throughout a person's life, along with age-related changes, body fat growth and fibrosis, a gradual strengthening of the organ's echostructure occurs.
In addition to natural changes, the echostructure of the gland changes with pathological processes occurring in the pancreas. For example, the manifestation of acute pancreatitis in ultrasonography will be edema of the gland in combination with a reduced echostructure of the organ, but malignant tumors and chronic form of pancreatitis manifest themselves not by a decrease, but by an increase in this property. This is associated with scar changes and the development of fibrosis of tissues, which in their structure is much denser than the gland tissues.
It should be noted that it does not change with a rhinestone, therefore, in the early stages of the development of diseases, the pancreas will look normal without any signs of a deviation in its structure from the liver and gall bladder. Then, as the disease develops, the pancreas will also change. Initially, the changes will be heterogeneous, and then they can cover the entire body. In the first case, they will be called focal, and in the second - diffuse. Diffusive-heterogeneous structure of the organ in chronic pancreatitis will be associated with alternation of infiltrate sites and inflammatory edema of hyperechoic areas, such as fibrosis and fragments of intact gland.
This echostructure is not characteristic of all phases of pancreatitis. During periods of remission, patients often observe a diffuse heterogeneity of the pancreas, which is explained by the combination of normal gland tissue with foci of fibrosis. At locations of fibrous tissue, calcification may appear over time, which, in ultrasound, manifests itself in the form of half-centimeter hyperechoic foci that have an acoustic shadow.
During periods of exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis, the echostructure of the gland can create the impression of an almost healthy organ. This is due to the fact that inflammatory edema is characterized by hypoechoinality, and fibrotic growths, on the contrary, have hyperechoigenicity, so when exacerbation, it is not uncommon for these two opposing phenomena to overlap each other, making it difficult to diagnose and confound inexperienced specialists.
Homogeneous pancreatic echostructure
The pancreas tissue of a healthy person has a uniform echostructure, which is a kind of benchmark for which specialists are guided when identifying the primary symptoms of such a disease as acute pancreatitis. A healthy organ has perfectly visible contours, and its tail and head retain their proportional dimensions regardless of the position of the human body and its physical condition.
Homogeneous pancreatic echostructure indicates complete absence of diagnosed diabetes and pancreatitis. Some diffuse changes in tissues can occur under the influence of certain drugs, but this is not at all a 100% proof of a person's pathological abnormalities of internal organs. The final verdict about the occurrence of a disease in a patient can be borne only by an experienced specialist and then, only after carrying out a number of diagnostic procedures in special clinical conditions. Until then, the uniformity of the echostructure of the pancreatic tissue is only a secondary sign of quality health.