Summary
Punch biopsy was carried out in 32 cases in which thyroid gland changes were sonographically classified as being of homogeneously normal or of homogeneously low echogenicity. Mean follicle lumen size was morphometrically determined from the histological sections. This produced a significant, positive correlation between echogenicity and follicle size. The mean follicle lumen diameter in so-called echonormal structures was 67 µm (SD±23 µm), and (SD±8 µm) in low-echogenic lesions. Thus normal echogenicity represented a normofollicular or macrofollicular structure, while a low echogenicity pattern indicated a microfollicular or solid tissue structure. The structure of thyroid carcinomas is not homogeneously normofollicular or macrofollicular; in exceptional cases they are such only focally. Therefore the significance of these findings lies in the exclusion of malignancy in the event of homogeneously normal echogenicity.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- SD:
-
standard deviation
References
Becker W, Reiners Chr, Wiedemann W, Schäffer R, Börner W (1984) Sonographie bei diffuser Hyperthyreose: sind immunogene Formen differenzierbar? Klinikarzt 13:920–932
Benson DM, Rifkin MD, Rose JL, Goldberg BB (1983) Characterisation of benign and malignant tissues of the thyroid gland — an ultrasonic approach using RF waveform analysis and pattern recognition. Invest Radiol 18:459–462
Chivers RC (1981) Tissue Characterization. Ultrasound Med Biol 7:1–20
Habermehl A, Hackelöer BJ (1983) Physikalische und technische Grundlagen der Sonographie. Dtsch Ärztebl 41:35–48
Held P, Nickel O (1984) Rechnerunterstützte Auswertung von Ultraschallbildern der Schilddrüse. Fortschr Röntgenstr 141/2:185–191
Katz JF, Kane RA, Reyes J, Clarke MP, Hill ThC (1984) Thyroid Nodules: Sonographic-Pathologic Correlation. Radiology 151:741–745
Kremer H (1982) Sonographische Diagnostik innerer Erkrankungen. Urban und Schwarzenberg, München Wien Baltimore
LoGerfo P, Feind C, Weber C, Ting W (1983) The incidence of carcinoma in encapsulated follicular thyroid lesions diagnosed by large needle biopsy. Surgery 94:1008–1013
Maier R, Pfannenstiel P, Adam W, Hirsch H, Stein N, Utech Chr (1981) Sonographische Strukturen bei Autoimmunerkrankungen der Schilddrüse. Intern Welt 10:422–427
Maier R (1984) Ultraschalldiagnostik der Schilddrüse. Schattauer, Stuttgart New York
Müller HW, Supra R (1984) Case of the Month. J Ultras Med 7:R77 and R84
Müller HW, Schröder S, Böcker W, Schneider C (1985) Sonographisch geführte Feinstanzbiopsie der Schilddrüse. Dtsch med Wochenschr 11/168–174
Petzoldt R, Lutz H, Ehler R, Petzholdt M, Regler G, Spielmann F, Wopfner F (1978) Sonographische Differenzierung kalter Schilddrüsenbezirke. Diagnostik 11:461–464
Schröder S, Schmiegelow P, Müller HW, Dietel M, Böcker W (1985) Morphologische Analyse von Feinstanzbiopsien der Schilddrüse — Methodenspektrum, Diagnostische Kriterien, Aussagewert. Pathologe 6:80–87
Simeone JF, Daniels GH, Mueller PR, Maloof F, van Sonnenberg E, Hall DA, O'Connell R, Ferrucci JT, Wittenberg J (1982) High-resolution real-time sonography of the thyroid. Radiology 145:431–435
Thijssen JM, Nicholas D (1982) Ultrasonic Tissue Characterisation. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague Boston London
Wiedemann W, Reiners Chr (1982) Die Differentialdiagnose des echoarmen Knotens der Schilddrüse. Dtsch med Wochenschr 107:85–91
Wiedemann W, Baum K, Reiners Chr, Börner W (1982) Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Schilddrüsensonographie bei der Diagnostik des Schilddrüsenmalignoms. Fortschr Röntgenstr 137:247–362
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Müller, H.W., Schröder, S., Schneider, C. et al. Sonographic tissue characterisation in thyroid gland diagnosis. Klin Wochenschr 63, 706–710 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01733114
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01733114