Improved radiographic visualization of calculus in distal ureter

Roentgenographic visualization of a calculus in the distal ureter is often made difficult by gas or bowel contents in the region of the pelvis. Filling the bladder with sterile water raises the bladder dome and displaces the bowel upward. Any calculus in the lower 4 to 5 cm. of the distal ureter is then clearly demonstrated on roentgenograms taken against the water-filled bladder instead of against the bowel filled with gas and feces. This maneuver also aids in differentiation of a calculus in the distal ureter from a phlebolith in the bladder wall, and has improved visualization of distal ureteral calculus in 50 patients during the last six years.