[Sonography of adrenal gland diseases]

In 60 normal control persons and 88 patients with diseases of the adrenal gland, sonographic examinations of the adrenals were carried out. Examination technique and typical sonographic findings in different adrenal lesions are presented. Normal-sized adrenal glands and space-occupying lesions measuring 8-12 mm in diameter could not be visualized in all instances. Adrenal sonography is quite suitable for a screening procedure, however, it is inferior to CT in spatial resolution and overall accuracy. In adrenal lesions exceeding 2 cm in diameter, the sensitivity of sonographic examinations equals that of computed tomography. Patients considered for surgical intervention always require exact delineation of adrenal diseases by computed tomography.