The previous year's publication in diagnostic imaging attempted to clarify the relative value of the various modalities in a number of clinical settings. The role of the barium enema in the management of colorectal neoplasms and diverticulitis continues to be questioned by proponents of primary colonoscopy with respect to the former and computed tomography with respect to the latter. Multiple promising reports have supported the potential value of transrectal ultrasound for staging rectal cancer and detecting its recurrence. Similarly impressive data concerning the accuracy of abdominal ultrasound with graded compression in suspected appendicitis have been presented. Whether such success proves to be universal remains to be determined. Conversely, after earlier enthusiastic reports on the benefits of defecography in selecting patients for correction of defecation disturbances, recent papers are somewhat more reserved, particularly with regard to certain diagnostic parameters previously believed to be significant. Thus, the pendulum continues and will continue to swing in the approach to these diagnostic problems.
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