[Sonography and plain roentgen image in diagnosis of salivary calculi--experimental studies]

A model was developed in which high-resolution real-time sonography was compared with radiological examinations for determining their sensitivity in diagnosing salivary gland stones. For this purpose an artificial salivary gland medium was compared with human salivary gland tissue for echogenicity. It was shown that both the artificial and the true salivary gland medium possessed comparable acoustic properties. Forty salivary gland stones were examined ultrasonographically in both media with 5 and 7.5 MHz linear scanners and a 5 MHz sector scanner, following which a plain X-ray was done, while 35 of 40 calculi could be definitely identified with linear scanners in both media, this could be accomplished by X-ray only in 50% (20 of 40 calculi). All salivary gland stones greater than 1-2 mm could be detected ultrasonographically, whereas radiological identification did not correlate with stone size. Mineral composition was found to influence the radiological study but not sonographic pictures of sialoliths. If sialolithiasis is suspect clinically, ultrasonography with a linear scanner must be considered the diagnostic procedure of choice.