Demonstration and dimensional analysis of the normal pancreas with gray-scale echography.

For consistent identification of the normal pancreas, preliminary longitudinal scanning at, or near, the mid-line and subsequent oblique scanning in the long axis are necessary prerequisites in delineating the anatomic outline of the pancreas. The range of normal measurements for different anatomical regions of the pancreas was determined, based on the dimensional examinations of this organ in 328 patients free of pancreatic disease. These provide objective guidelines for analysis of the pancreas in abdominal echography. Echography provides a rapid, non-invasive method of imaging the pancreas. This study demonstrated that visualization of the pancreas as a separate structure does not imply that it is consequently abnormal.