Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 4, Issue 8 421-425, Copyright © 1985 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Correlation of the echogenicity and structure of clotted blood
A. Alanen and M. Kormano
The echogenicity of clotting human blood in sterile plastic bags was
studied for up to 21 days and correlated with the histology of the clots.
As observed with a 6-MHz A-scanner and a 5-MHz real-time gray-scale
scanner, fresh blood and fresh clots were rich in internal echoes. The
blood clot gradually became anechoic as a result of erythrocyte packing,
hemolysis, and formation of fibrin thrombus, except for the irregular upper
border, which also remained histologically inhomogeneous. This study shows
that the echogenicity of a hematoma or clot is dependent on its histology;
namely, on the distribution and integrity of cells within the clot.
