ULTRASOUND EXAMINATION OF THE RENAL CORTEX IN THE HEALTHY NEW-BORN

Abstract

The examination of the kidney parenchyma by the ultrasound assumes the identification of the cortex, of the medulla and of the arciform blood vessels. The kidney cortey is normally less echogenic than the parenchyma of the spleen and the liver; in the normal new-borns and babies it can also be isoechogenic with the liver parenchyma while in the prematures and in the new-borns with a small delivery mass it can be even more echogenic than the liver parenchyma. In the parenchymic diseases of the children kidneys the cortex becomes more echogenic than the liverparenchyma or it can be isoechogenic with it. The aim of the paper is to examine the kidney cortex isogenic nature in healthy new-borns of different age and body mass. The examination comprised 49 healthy new-borns with the normal urine findings as well as the normal nitrogen products in the serum of the age from 1 to 27 days with the body mass from 1900 to 4950 g. The real time ultrasound technique was used as adopted to the new-born age. It was found out that the kidney cortex of the majority of the healthy new-borns - born on time with a small delivery mass - as well as that of the prematures was isoechogenic with the liver parenchyma or more echogenic than it. In the new-born with a delivery mass of over 3000 g and especially of over 4000 g the kidney cortexwas most often more hypo-echogenic than the liver parenchyma

Keywords

• Kidney
• cortex
• ultrasound
• new-borns