[Incidental ultrasound findings of the gallbladder]

The low threshold for sonographic examinations of the gallbladder, the relative high incidence of gall bladder disease and the extraordinary quality of ultrasound imaging leads to a remarkable number of chance findings. The image quality of new ultrasound scanners allows in most cases a rapid diagnostic decision. Therapeutic consequences depend in the first line on the following carefully directed anamnesis. The most common findings are gallstones, cholesterinosis, polyps and sludge. Rare but important findings are porcelain gallbladder, adenomyomatosis and cysts of the common bile duct.