Ultrasound examination of the chest in the hands of the clinical physician

Implementation of ultrasound into clinical medicine is current trend in many subspecialties of internal medicine. Remarkable development and use of this technology is currently present in intensive care and respiratory medicine. This review summarizes current knowledge and nomenclature of artefacts and findings in clinical chest ultrasound. It describes ultrasound-based approach in a differential diagnostic algorithm of acute severe dyspnoea. Chest ultrasound should be a standard knowledge of chest physician.Key words: clinical chest ultrasound - chest drainage - pleural fluid - pneumothorax - thoracocentesis.