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Observations with diagnostic ultrasound in renal disease over a 10-year period are reviewed. The advantages of diagnostic methods involving the least possible discomfort to the patient are emphasized. Ultrasonography is regarded as a reliable non-invasive method for the diagnostic differentiation between renal tumours and cysts. It was used by the authors for this purpose in 740 cases. Renal tumours were found by this method in 622, and renal cysts in 118 cases. Of the 740 patients, 726 underwent surgery. The preoperative ultrasonic diagnosis of renal tumour proved to be correct in 91.8 per cent, that of renal cyst in 88.9 per cent of the respective surgical cases. Ultrasonography also lends itself to the follow-up of polycystic disease of the kidney, being suited for its early diagnosis, as well as to its identification in the stage of renal failure when the traditional diagnostic methods are no longer practicable.

In addition to the conventional examination methods, ultrasonography was applied in the diagnostics of testicular lesions in 18 cases. This harmless method differentiating hydrocele from testicular tumour and inguinal hernia is recommended.

Applied concomitantly with other methods ultrasonic testing is claimed to furnish reliable results in the diagnosis of renal disease. A total of 177 cases with radiologically confirmed urologic renal disease were tested by means of the ultrasonic method. Of the cases 128, [72.3%] were renal tumours and cysts. The echo-tests involves no risk, can be performed on outpatients, and repeated whenever necessary without special preparation.

A case is reported in which diagnosis of a calyceal diverticulum, at the time of observation of cystic appearance, was made by ultrasonography, without requiring special roentgen diagnostic procedures of limited safety.

Based on his 15 years' experience, the author described the ultrasound diagnostics of urological homogeneous masses. He stresses that, of the diagnostic examinations, always the less inconvenient intervention imposing the least strain on the patients should be selected. The reliability of ultrasonic diagnosis is verified by the authors' own results.

Residual urine was measured with the two-dimensional and the gray-scale equipments (Kretz-Technik) in 26 cases each. The results were checked by catheterization. The difference between the ultrasonographic and the catheter values was 20 to 40 ml for the two-dimensional, but only 5 to 10 ml for the gray-scale apparatus. Ultrasonography is regarded as a reliable and entirely harmless procedure, suited for the measurement of residual urine.

Diagnostic ultrasound has been used over the last eight years for the demonstration of various space-occupying lesions of the urogenital tract, for the estimation of the prostate size and for the identification of intrascrotal processes and tumours. 918 patients were studied by this method. In 595 (87.3 per cent) of the 682 surgical cases in this series ultrasonic diagnosis was confirmed by the surgical finding. False-positive and false-negative results totalled 17.7 per cent. The method is particularly suited for the differential diagnosis of renal cysts from tumours without the need for other procedures involving discomfort to the patients. This procedure, which is free from any iatrogenic hazard, provides accurate information on the size and structure of space-occupying lesions.

For the differentiation of acoustically homogeneous resistances the ultrasound method was used in 562 cases. In the present paper is reported on the possibilities in the differential diagnostics of renal cyst and cyst-like formations given by the echo method. The new diagnostic method gives an essential help for making the exact diagnosis, taking simultaneously into consideration the findings of the traditional examination methods.

A case of hydroneophrosis is reported in which the diagnosis has been confirmed on the ground of renal echography. The physical principles of the method are outlined. Its expediency, safety and efficiency are emphasized. It is considered the most reliable diagnostic procedure if hydronephrosis is suspected in case of renal occlusion.