The Radiological Investigation of Hydrosalpinx

Abstract

1. Ninety consecutive salpingograms are reviewed. Viscous diodone was used in all cases. Nineteen cases showed retention of medium after two hours. The operative and biopsy findings are reported in six; in two cases the tubes, once freed, were patent and macroscopically normal. 2. The value of viscous diodone as an aid in examining the normal mucosal pattern, and the features of this pattern are described. 3. The miscibility of viscous diodone with tubal content is discussed. “Clotting” of the medium in radiologically normal cases is described. 4. The mechanism of normal and abnormal absorption is discussed and correlated with both the radiological and pathological findings, with special reference to the diagnosis of hydrosalpinx. 5. Some of the possible mistakes in the radiological diagnosis of hydrosalpinx are described, and the value of a late film is illustrated, especially in cases where only one tube is blocked. 6. The observation that not all medium shown on the late film is retained in a hydrosalpinx, but may lie in peritoneal pockets, is made and illustrated. 7. If a tube shows no normal mucosal pattern, and if retained medium is shown in this tube on the late film, the conclusion is drawn that salpingostomy is of doubtful value.