Miscellaneous

Abstract

The normal wall of the stomach is 3–5 mm in thickness on ultrasonographic examination. Using a high-resolution transducer head, five separate layers of the stomach can be visualized in a thin patient. Beginning from the luminal side, the first layer is hyperechoic, the second layer hypoechoic, the third layer hyperechoic, the fourth layer hypoechoic, and the fifth layer is hyperechoic. The hypoechoic fourth layer represents the muscular layer of the stomach and is the thickest of all the layers. On a typical examination, only this fourth layer, measuring 2–3 mm in thickness, is visualized as hypoechoic. The gastric angle and the antrum are visualized in all fasting patients. When there is a large amount of air within the lumen of the stomach, the wall of the stomach is not well seen, and in this situation the examination should be done in the erect position following oral administration of a large amount of water.