Focus on normal structures and normal variants easily missed on routine echocardiographic examination

Abstract

In routine echocardiography, the views to be examined and the structures and blood flow to be elucidated in each view are fixed for the most part with only slight variations between institutions. Once examiners master the echocardiographic technique and experience a series of abnormal findings, too much focus on recording routine views may lead us to perform echocardiographic examinations without considering the spatial relationships between the cardiovascular and surrounding organs. In this case, when finding unexpected structures or blood flows, it may be difficult to distinguish them from normal findings. This review outlines normal structures (findings) as well as the normal variants in healthy subjects that are easily overlooked in routine echocardiographic examinations.