THE NORMAL WALL OF THE ESOPHAGUS AS SEEN BY ENDOLUMINAL ULTRASONOGRAPHY

Endoluminal ultrasonography of the esophagus offers a possibility to s tudy the esophageal wall, even in pathological disorders with narrow l umina such as benign or malignant strictures, by using 2.7-mm-wide pro bes. In order to evaluate the normal variations in size of the esophag eal wall components, 10 volunteers and 10 deceased humans without uppe r 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 c ontrast a discrepancy was noted between the measurements made by ultra sonography and histopathology.