The author discusses the clinic usefulness and limitations of sonographic analysis of the liver surface for the diagnosis of the micronodular type of cirrhosis. US evaluation of the ventral contour of the liver was performed using a 7.5 MHz linear transducer in 100 patients with suspec- ted liver disease (cirrhosis, n = 49). The definitive diagnosis was established using liver biopsy and/or laparoscopy in all patients. As objective US sign of cirrhosis only rereproducible diffuse ventral liver surface irregularities were considered. In 9 cases the result of US examination could not be reliably evaluated; therefore, they were excluded from further analysis in 91 diagnostics studies, the specifity of US for cirrhosis was 93.5 %, the sensitivity 91.1 %, and the accuracy 92.3 %. Despite some discussed limitations the high-resolution US analysis of the ventral liver contour is clinically useful non-invasive test for the diagnosis of cirrhosis. It is recommended especially in juvenile patients, for follow-up of patients with known hepatic disease with a tendency to develop cirrhosis, and in the clinical setting of contraindication of invasive method. The article discusses also the contribution of some other diagnostic tool, especially MR imaging.

        Key words: ultrasonography – liver cirrhosis – liver contour