Summary
The clinical estimation of liver size was evaluated with the use of radioisotope scintiscans as a standard of comparison. It was found that the upper border of liver dullness (as delineated by percussion) was almost always too low. The normal liver may frequently extend below the costal margin and the xiphoid process and yet be impalpable. Percussion offers a more accurate means of estimating the lower border of the normal or the acutely diseased liver. A truer estimation of liver size is obtained in patients with chronic liver disease, presumably because the increased consistency of the organ enhances the detection of its lower border by physical examination.
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References
Naftalis, J., andLeevy, C. M. Clinical estimation of liver size.Am. J. Dig. Dis. 18:235, 1963.
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Supported in part by funds from the John N. Eisman Memorial Fund and the Milton L. Brown Memorial Fund.
The authors would like to thank Dr. Ben I. Friedman for making available to them the radioisotope scintiscan, which, in turn, was made possible by Grant Tl CA 5049-05 from the U. S. Public Health Service.
Trainee in Gastroenterology, under Training Grant T1-AM-5120-07 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, U.S. Public Health Service.
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Peternel, W.W., Schaefer, J.W. & Schiff, L. Clinical evaluation of liver size and hepatic scintiscan. Digest Dis Sci 11, 346–350 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233628
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233628