Ultrasound of the Urinary Bladder, Revisited

Urine-filled bladder can be evaluated easily with ultrasound, and bladder tumors are usually well shown at ultrasound. Although ultrasound is not a primary imaging modality for staging of bladder tumors, it can provide general information regarding depth of tumor invasion into the proper muscle or perivesical adipose tissue. Ultrasound is also useful in showing nonneoplastic lesions of the bladder, such as stone, cystitis, diverticulum and ureterocele. Color Doppler ultrasound can show vascularity of the tumor. It also shows urine flow from the ureteral orifice or through the diverticular neck. As compared with transabdominal ultrasound, transrectal ultrasound shows bladder lesions more markedly in the dorsal wall or neck of the bladder.