鋤柄 稔, 松本 隆, 大畑 昌彦, 駒崎 敏郎, 山崎 達雄, 尾本 良三

Minoru SUKIGARA, Takashi MATSUMOTO, Masahiko OHATA, Toshiro KOMAZAKI, Tatsuo YAMAZAKI, Ryozo OMOTO

埼玉医科大学第一外科

First Department of Surgery, Saitama Medical School

キーワード : Doppler, Endoscopic ultrasound, Azygos vein

Both the anatomical and hemodynamic features of the azygos vein, intercostal vein and artery, and the esophagogastric varices were evaluated using transesophageal real-time two-dimensional Doppler echography (TE2DD). Thirteen adult patients with liver cirrhosis were examined. The transducer used was a convex array type with a frequency of 5.0MHz.
By TE2DD, of the azygos vein, except its uppermost and lowest margin could be visualized in most cases. The length of the azygos vein visualized by TE2DD was 10±3 cm. The more caudal the portion was located, the smaller its diameter and the flow velocity became. The number of intercostal vein, visualized by TE2DD, was 5.4±1.7 per person. Intercostal artery, located caudal to the intercostal vein, was visualized in two cases. The flow patterns of the azygos vein was pulsatile with two peaks of velocity. The flow patterns of the varices was constant. TE2DD, the less invasive new technique, seems to be very useful for the evaluation of ascending collaterals in the patients with cirrhosis.