The normal wall of the esophagus as seen by endoluminal ultrasonography

Endoluminal ultrasonography of the esophagus offers a possibility to study the esophageal wall, even in pathological disorders with narrow lumina such as benign or malignant strictures, by using 2.7-mm-wide probes. In order to evaluate the normal variations in size of the esophageal wall components, 10 volunteers and 10 deceased humans without upper gastrointestinal disease were studied with a 2.7-mm-wide endoluminal ultrasonic probe. A comparison with a histopathological technique was also performed. The results indicated a good correlation between the volunteers and the deceased in using endoluminal ultrasonography. In contrast a discrepancy was noted between the measurements made by ultrasonography and histopathology.