Gray-Scale Ultrasound Diagnosis of Peripheral Arterial Aneurysms

Abstract

Diagnostic ultrasound is a feasible technique for demonstrating the presence of an aneurysm in the popliteal, femoral, iliac and brachial arteries. All aneurysms were correctly identified and confirmed by arteriography, surgery or examination of the amputated specimen. The popliteal artery in healthy volunteers had a mean size of 0.8 .+-. 0.2 cm. Age or sex of the patient did not influence artery size. In patients with known abdominal aortic aneurysms or significant atherosclerosis, popliteal size was within 2 SD from the mean of normal popliteal arteries.