Sonographic diagnosis of bowel obstruction presenting with fluid-filled loops of bowel.
When intestinal obstruction presents with fluid-filled bowel loops instead of air-distended loops, subtle elongated masses representing these bowel loops may be missed on plain abdominal radiographs. In these cases, ultrasound will show sausage-shaped, cystic structures, with uneven margins representing mucosal folds, distributed throughout the abdomen and sometimes accompanied by peristalsis. These features differentiate fluid-filled bowel loops from other cystic structures in the abdomen and help make a diagnosis of bowel obstruction.
D000328:Adult; D001201:Ascites / Q000175:diagnosis; D001826:Body Fluids; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007424:Intracellular Fluid; D008297:Male; D008639:Mesenteric Cyst / Q000175:diagnosis; D008875:Middle Aged; D010048:Ovarian Cysts / Q000175:diagnosis; D014463:Ultrasonography