Applications for ultrasonography in the emergency department.

The primary emergency applications of diagnostic ultrasonography are now reasonably well defined. Basic characteristics of the emergency department examination, including its rapid and highly focused nature, determine both the limitations and advantages of this technique. As greater experience and more advanced technologies develop in the emergency department setting, the role of ultrasonography will likely expand into areas that are not generally practiced today. Doppler technology, especially, promises to provide the emergency department physician of the future an even more powerful tool for the rapid diagnosis of a variety of common and critical conditions.