The role of sonography in evaluating right upper quadrant disease in children.

Since 1974, grey scale sonography has been used with increasing frequency in evaluating abdominal masses in children. Because sonography is noninvasive and does not involve ionizing radiation, it is of particular value in the evaluation of pediatric patients. This paper focuses on right upper quadrant masses in children. The liver and gallbladder have been easy to image sonographically. It should be noted that sonography cannot accurately differentiate between benign and malignant lesions. The pancreas, previously a difficult organ to appreciate radiographically, can be visualized with both ultrasound and computerized tomography. Both history and physical examination are important to the sonographic evaluation of masses in children.