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To date, there have been 25 studies attempting to correlate biparietal diameter and gestational age; of these, 17 meet specific criteria and thus are included in this evaluation. Although all studies have shown an increase in biparietal diameter with advancing gestational age, between 17 wk and term there is a discrepancy of approximately 3 wk. In this evaluation the charts are compared and the variations analyzed. An ideal table is constructed by combining the mean gestational age, calculated from a statistical analysis, and the variation at each millimeter point, determined by comparison of all the studies. It is hoped that this new 90% composite table, which consists of a range of gestational ages in weeks for each biparietal diameter, will not only provide more realistic indications of fetal age but also will serve as a reminder to sonographers, obstetricians, and patients of the relative accuracy and variations of biparietal diameter measurements.

A mass containing unusual calcific densities suggestive of bone formation was demonstrated within the breast on xeroradiography. The mass showed a very high uptake of 99mTc-polyphosphate on a total-body radionuclide bone scan and was found to have extensive bone and cartilage formation on pathological examination.

Results of in vivo attenuation measurements in the liver have been obtained in 26 normal controls and in 51 patients with chronic diffuse liver disease. A modified real-time sector scanner was used for narrow-band amplitude attenuation examination. In the control group (people without apparent liver disease), a statistically significant correlation was found between acoustic attenuation in liver and two blood tests reflecting liver function: serum albumin (n = 24, r = 0.67, p = 0.002) and prothrombin time (n = 23, r = 0.63, p = 0.019). There was a statistically significant positive correlation between attenuation and fat for all biopsied patients (n = 51, r = 0.32, p = 0.023) and for patients with minimal fibrosis (n = 25, r = 0.45, p = 0.027). Although no correlation with fibrosis was found for all patients, in the group of patients with minimal fat there was a correlation with portal fibrosis (n = 33, r = 0.37, p = 0.035). This double blind prospective study shows that in the liver: (1) attenuation estimates appear correlated with clinical parameters (blood tests) in normal volunteers, and (2) large changes in fat affect narrow-band acoustic attenuation estimates to a greater degree than severe portal fibrosis in patients with chronic diffuse liver disease. Further research is needed before these estimates can become a clinical tool.

Of 210 pathologically confirmed palpable breast masses examined by continuous ultrasound B-scanning using a 2.5- or 7-MHz transducer and mammography, fluid filled cysts more than 1 cm in diameter were diagnosed accurately in 75 cases. Of the 103 solid masses studied by echography, 31 were circumscribed (29 benign fibroadenomas and 2 circumscribed medullary carcinomas) and 72 were not. Infiltrating carcinoma represented the majority of the latter type, although 2 cases of chronic inflammation had the same echographic appearance. Thirty palpable breast masses less than 2 cm in diameter were not delineated with the 2.5-MHz transducer, and biopsy showed benign disease. The combination of mammography and continuous ultrasound B-scanning of palpable breast masses improved the diagnostic accuracy obtained with mammography alone and aided in the differentiation of nondiagnostic mammograms.