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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Oct 25, 2015; 7(15): 1170-1180
Published online Oct 25, 2015. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v7.i15.1170
Imaging of common bile duct by linear endoscopic ultrasound
Malay Sharma, Amit Pathak, Abid Shoukat, Chittapuram Srinivasan Rameshbabu, Akash Ajmera, Zeeshn Ahamad Wani, Praveer Rai
Malay Sharma, Amit Pathak, Abid Shoukat, Department of Gastroenterology, Jaswant Rai Speciality Hospital, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh 250001, India
Chittapuram Srinivasan Rameshbabu, Department of Anatomy, Muzaffarnagar Medical College, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh 251203, India
Akash Ajmera, Department of Medicine, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25504, United States
Zeeshn Ahamad Wani, Jaswant Rai Speciality Hospital, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh 250001, India
Praveer Rai, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 226014, India
Author contributions: Sharma M, Pathak A and Rai P performed EUS; Pathak A contributed to conceptualizing the manuscript; Rameshbabu CS contributed to making sketches; Ajmera A and Wani ZA contributed to proof reading of the manuscript. Shoukat A contributed to critical revision of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Malay Sharma, MD, DM, Gastroenterologist, Director, Department of Gastroenterology, Jaswant Rai Speciality Hospital, Mawana Road, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh 250001, India. sharmamalay@hotmail.com
Telephone: +91-98-37031148 Fax: +91-12-12657154
Received: March 21, 2015
Peer-review started: March 22, 2015
First decision: May 19, 2015
Revised: July 30, 2015
Accepted: August 16, 2015
Article in press: August 21, 2015
Published online: October 25, 2015
Processing time: 214 Days and 16.6 Hours
Abstract

Imaging of common bile duct (CBD) can be done by many techniques. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography is considered the gold standard for imaging of CBD. A standard technique of imaging of CBD by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has not been specifically described. The available descriptions mention different stations of imaging from the stomach and duodenum. The CBD lies closest to duodenum and choice of imaging may be restricted to duodenum for many operators. Generally most operators prefer multi station imaging during EUS and the choice of selecting the initial station varies from operator to operator. Detailed evaluation of CBD is frequently the main focus of imaging during EUS and in such situations multi station imaging with a high-resolution ultrasound scanner may provide useful information. Examination of the CBD is one of the primary indications for doing an EUS and it can be done from five stations: (1) the fundus of stomach; (2) body of stomach; (3) duodenal bulb; (4) descending duodenum; and (5) antrum. Following down the upper 1/3rd of CBD can do imaging of entire CBD from the liver window and following up the lower 1/3rd of CBD can do imaging of entire CBD from the pancreatic window. This article aims at simplifying the techniques of imaging of CBD by linear EUS.

Keywords: Endoscopic ultrasound; Common bile duct; Pancreas; Pancreatic duct; Portal vein

Core tip: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is a new technology which has a steep learning curve. It is difficult to learn EUS as the standard techniques of EUS imaging have not been established. The common description of every organ or structure has been done by a station-wise imaging by most of the authors. The imaging of common bile duct (CBD) is an important part of EUS examination. The techniques of imaging of CBD by EUS have not been defined so far. This article aims at simplifying the techniques of imaging of CBD by linear EUS.