[Arthrosonography--a new additional image-producing procedure in the detection of diseases of the knee joint].

Ultrasonic examination of the knee joint is a non invasive reliable technique without disadvantages to the patients. It should be used supplementary to usual X-ray pictures of the popliteal space. Ultrasonography is a fast and accurate method to detect a wide variety of disorders, describing their exact location and calculating their volume. It produces supplementary diagnosis of extraarticular findings like popliteal cysts (Baker's cysts), aneurysms of popliteal artery, soft-tissue lesions, abscesses, hematomas, bursitis and varicosis, and of intra-articular disorders like effusion and synovial edema.