[Sonography and scintigraphy in the differential diagnosis of diffuse liver parenchymal diseases]

70 patients with established diffuse liver disease (steatosis, fibrosis, cirrhosis) were investigated by sonography and scintigraphy. Sonographic parenchymal morphology and scintigraphic activity pattern were correlated with the histological diagnosis. Scintigraphy as a functional diagnostic technique revealed early fibrotic changes of the liver not seen by ultrasound. Cirrhosis could be demonstrated equally by both methods. The two major advances of ultrasound were: high accuracy in steatosis and ability of simultaneous analysis of the other abdominal organs.