American Board of Pathology (ABPath) Practice Test

Enlargement of the liver, also known as hepatomegaly, is a common ultrasound finding in acute liver pathology. In conditions such as viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, or acute liver failure, the liver often becomes swollen due to the inflammatory response and cellular edema. This enlargement can be readily visualized during an ultrasound scan, where the size of the liver can be assessed and compared to normal ranges.

While ultrasound may also show decreased echogenicity in certain liver pathologies, enlargement is a more direct and characteristic finding associated with acute processes in the liver. Calcification within the liver is more typical of chronic conditions or specific diseases like metastatic disease rather than acute liver pathology. Similarly, splenomegaly can be associated with liver disease, but it is not a feature of acute liver pathology specifically; instead, it may indicate chronic conditions or portal hypertension that develops over a longer time frame. Thus, the prominent and immediate change in size of the liver during acute pathology makes enlargement a key ultrasound finding.