The liver is a vital organ located in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen, just beneath the diaphragm. It performs hundreds of essential functions including filtering blood, producing bile, metabolizing nutrients, and detoxifying harmful substances. The liver is one of the most commonly scanned organs in abdominal ultrasound. On sonography, the normal liver has a homogeneous, medium-level echogenicity that serves as a reference standard for comparing other organs. Sonographers evaluate the liver for size, echotexture, focal masses, cysts, and the condition of its blood supply including the hepatic veins, portal vein, and hepatic artery.
Sonography Term