Computed tomography and ultrasound of the normal pancreas.

Computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) were performed on 47 patients with a normal pancreas. CT was a significantly better method than US to demonstrate the pancreatic body and tail. The pancreatic head was also shown more often using CT than US, but this difference was not statistically significant. The diameters of the different parts of the pancreas measured at CT were significantly larger than measured at US. The explanation is most probably that the widths of the splenic and superior mesenteric veins are added to the diameters of the pancreas measured at CT, while using US, these vessels are clearly differentiated from the pancreatic tissue. US was a significantly better technique than CT to register the vascular structures surrounding the pancreas, except from the left renal vein, which was more often demonstrated at CT.