[Echographic monitoring of follicular growth]

The sonographic monitoring of the ovarian follicular growth has been widely adopted, being a non invasive method, easily repeatable, well tolerated by the patient and low cost. A further impulse has been obtained by the endovaginal sonography. During a natural menstrual cycle the sonography can highlight the alterations that occur to the follicle and to the endometrium, supplying useful information on ovulatory timing. In pharmacologically induced menstrual cycles, the sonography enables us to evaluate the ovarian response to the therapy in tennis of number, size, site, and the type of growth of the recruited follicles, enabling us therefore to modulate the stimulation according to the individual response. Fluximetric studies are among the new applications the most promising, since they allow us not only to identify quickly the vascular structures, but also to supply a predictive value for the embryo implantation and the pregnancy evolution. The sonography at present proves to be irreplaceable in assisted reproduction programmes.