ENDORECTAL COLOR AND DUPLEX IMAGING OF THE NORMAL RECTAL WALL AND RECTAL MASSES

This study investigates the ability of endorectal ultrasonography aide d by color ow and pulse wave Doppler techniques to identify submucosal arterial plexuses of the normal rectal wall and to detect vessels sup plying rectal wall masses. Color flow and pulsed wave Doppler analysis of 62 normal submucosal arterial plexuses and vessels feeding rectal wall masses (one rectal endometriosis and seven rectal cancers) was pe rformed. The color signals from normal submucosal arterial plexuses an d the one case of rectal endometriosis were judged to be sparse or dec reased in comparison to color signals from rectal cancers. The median and mean P1 values for normal submucosal arterial plexuses were signif icantly greater than those for the central feeding vessels or small pe ripheral vessels within rectal masses. Our experience with color and d uplex endorectal ultrasonography suggests that different vascular stru ctures exist in normal persons compared to those in rectal wall masses . Pathologically, rectal cancers possess vessels with and without a sm ooth muscle layer, which may produce the high and low resistance signa ls identified by pulse Doppler.