Abstract
Lung ultrasound has become widespread in the management of critically ill patients. Up till very recently, sonographic evaluation of the lung was believed to be a very limited tool, because from the very low acoustic impedance of lung air it was very difficult to construct clear ultrasound images. It had been used only to confirm fluid accumulation in the chest cavity. Now, however, pulmonary parenchymal abnormalities can be diagnosed by understanding the imaged artifacts or in combination with sonographic findings. Ultrasound systems can be brought swiftly to the patient and examination can be started promptly. There is little doubt that it will continue to spread as a point-of-care diagnostic method. Currently, the auscultation technique forms part of the medical education curriculum in order to determine whether the chest anatomy is normal or abnormal. I think lung ultrasound should be considered as an additional part in the curriculum for the education of medical students or residents. In this review article I want to discuss the examination method, the basic findings, the meanings of various signs, the typical diagnosis and also the pit-falls in lung ultrasound imaging.
