Morphological and clinical study of shoulder joint diseases by ultrasonography

The usefulness of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of shoulder diseases was evaluated from both basic and clinical viewpoints. The Yokogawa Medical System U-SONIC RT2600 (7.5 MHz probe) was employed for the study. Four-directional scanning of shoulder joints using the water immersion method was performed, and the results were confirmed by surgery. The average thickness of the supraspinatus tendon in the control group was 5.6 mm, increasing with aging after the forties. In the groups with diseases, the ultrasonographic changes were detected to be mild in the rotator cuff at the site uncovered by the acromion and to be remarkable in the long head tendon of the biceps and the head of the humerus were detected, and similar changes were confirmed by surgery. The above results suggested that the changes in the rotator cuff or its surrounding tissues, undetectable by conventional examination, could be demonstrated by ultrasonography and that this method is clinically very useful for the diagnosis of shoulder diseases.