Ultrasonography and computed tomography of gallbladder and pancreatic diseases

Ultrasonographic and computed tomographic images of gallbladder carcinoma, pancreatic carcinoma, and chronic pancreatitis were compared, and the usefulness of ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography (CT) were discussed. Reproducibility of CT is far excellent than that of US, but invasiveness by CT increases when arteriography or other examination methods is used together with CT scanning. Though US has advantages that there is no radiation exposure and the examination time is short, reproducibility of US is not so good and it is difficult to read US images. US and CT are usually performed in the early stage of the examination course for gallbladder and pancreatic diseases. It was desired that US and CT should be used complementally after consideration of merits and demerits of both examination methods. (Tsunoda, M.)