Adrenal gland and renal sonography

Ultrasound (US) is an established imaging modality for the assessment of th e kidneys and adrenal glands. The advantages include its lack of ionizing r adiation, speed, multiplanar real time evaluation, and cost compared with m ore expensive modalities. The addition of color Doppler also permits accura te evaluation of blood flow, which is especially useful in renal assessment . As with all sonography, both renal and adrenal US are highly dependent on the operator's skill and experience and require meticulous scanning techni ques. In particular, adrenal sonography can be difficult due to the lack of a satisfactory acoustic window through which the incident US beam passes. This review summarizes the various morphologic appearances seen in common r enal and adrenal pathologies, many of which have characteristic US appearan ces enabling accurate diagnosis.