Ultrasound in rare diffuse liver disease

Ultrasound is often the first imaging procedure performed in the evaluation of individuals with suspected or known liver disease. Despite technical advances in ultrasound techniques, sonographic detection and evaluation of diffuse liver disease still remains difficult. This is due to the fact that diffuse liver disease does not always cause distortion of the liver parenchymal texture, internal liver architecture, or shape of the liver. On the other hand, the size of the liver, the echo pattern of the hepatic parenchyma, the analysis of intrahepatic vessels and alterations in perihepatic structures and lymph nodes can be helpful sonographic parameters of diffuse liver disease. Until now, the sonographic appearance of some rare diffuse liver diseases is not well known. However, there are some typical sonomorphological signs that, once identified, can facilitate the differentiation between various diseases. The aim of this paper is to highlight some typical ultrasound findings of liver parenchyma and perihepatic lymph node structures in rare diffuse liver diseases based on a review of published data.