title: The morphology and function of echocardiography.
abstract: Ultrasonographic methods rely on piezoelectric effects that define the reflection of sound energy from either moving blood or tissue. Noninvasive imaging of cardiac structures has altered the practice of cardiology over the past decade. During recent years, Doppler echocardiography has brought important advances in the assessment of cardiac morphology and function. Doppler color flow mapping studies have greatly enhanced both structural and functional assessment and the evaluation of congenital and acquired cardiac diseases. Although two-dimensional echocardiography is an established tool in clinical cardiology, the image quality of conventional transthoracic approaches can sometimes be unsatisfactory for various reasons. In such cases, transesophageal echocardiography can provide important diagnostic information. Furthermore, some structures that are poorly visualized on standard precordial echocardiography can be observed better on the transesophageal approach.
authors.affiliation: Institute Arnault Tzanck, St. Laurent du Var, France.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lloret
mesh_terms: D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans