[Lung ultrasonography in anesthesia and critical care medicine].

As ultrasound beam does not penetrate the air, it has long been thought that ultrasound imaging is not useful for evaluation of the pulmonary parenchyma. However, recent studies have shown that the artifact pattern generated by the lung can be used for the diagnosis of acute respiratory failure. Lung ultrasonography can provide us important informations inside the lung in a real-time fashion. Furthermore, general application of extended ultrasonography would be of greater benefit for perioperative diagnosis and intervention.