[Sonographic structure of the intestinal wall--significance for the diagnosis of inflammatory intestinal diseases].

Sonography can depict the transformation of the intestinal wall in Crohn's disease, esp. its layers. Besides demonstrating the transmural aspect of inflammation it also shows typical mesenteritis and complications such as fistula, abscess, inflammatory tumour, stenosis and ileus. Sonography proves invaluable in following up Crohn's disease. Differential diagnosis against other diseases of the bowel wall (ulcerous colitis, radiogenic, ischaemic, infectious and pseudomembranous colitis, as well as some types of lymphoma and carcinoma of the intestine) on a purely morphological basis is difficult, but nevertheless possible.