Ultrasound scanning of the pancreas provides information on changes in structure and size of the organ. This method of diagnosis allows you to use it repeatedly, controlling the dynamics of the whole process.
The pancreas, which has not undergone any changes, has a granular, homogeneous structure. In its normal state, during ultrasound examination, the pancreatic tissue echogenicity must coincide with the echogenicity of the liver, spleen. The head, an isthmus, an appendix hooked, the body and tail of the pancreas should be clearly visible on the monitor. Each part of the gland has its size and structure, which corresponds to the norm.
Exposing the pancreas to ultrasound examination, an experienced specialist focuses his attention not only on the organ itself, but also on other details. For example, on the contours of the gland. Ideally, they should be smooth, smooth and clear. During the ultrasound procedure, the doctor will necessarily pay attention to the adjacent structures, such as the splenic vein, the hollow vein, the mesenteric vein, the artery, the celiac trunk.
To diagnose their diseases, you will need to apply duplex ultrasound scanning. As a rule, the doctor uses ordinary ultrasound and duplex scanning together, because the information given by these two methods complements one another. Usual ultrasound displays the structure of blood vessels on the monitor, while duplex - shows the movement of blood on them. In addition, such a scan shows the information being processed in color. This allows the doctor to see the speed and flow of blood, and also to recognize the place where the course of blood flow is disturbed.
The Virsungi duct, which has a significant value in the diagnosis of pancreatitis, is also visualized when scanning the pancreas. Changing the structure of the duct gives important information that must be attached to the diagnosis. Thanks to ultrasound, it became possible to detect false cysts that form on the sites of tissue decay. Abscesses let know about themselves only in the case when pancreatitis in a patient proceeds in acute form.
Today, through various methods of scanning, it is possible to learn about the pancreas very much: to recognize the changes in contours, to reveal the current changes in the structure of the gland itself and the organs adjoining it, and also to determine what character structural changes are: focal, segmental or total, which is directly related tothe vastness of pathological processes in the pancreas.