What does it mean when liver ultrasound shows hypoechogenicity?

Liver ultrasound shows hypoechogenicity, most commonly heterogeneous fatty liver. Some fatty liver is homogeneous with enhanced echogenicity throughout the liver, but some fatty liver is non-homogeneous and within the liver parenchyma, sheets of hypoechogenicity can be seen. In fact, the enhanced echogenicity is an excess of fatty distributed particles, and the hypoechogenicity is usually distributed along the normal liver parenchyma around the bile ducts or around the intrahepatic vessels. Some patients will find this on physical examination and the physician will suggest that this is a sign of a non-uniform fatty liver. If hypoechoic, regular in shape, and well-defined within the parenchyma of the liver is found, it is most commonly a hemangioma. If hypoechoic, more regular morphology is found in the parenchyma of the liver, which can be single or multiple, further CT or MRI should be done to clarify the nature of the nodules in the liver to avoid delaying treatment.