Fig. 2

Shear wave elastography (SWE), gray-scale ultrasound (US), H&E staining, and Masson’s trichrome staining slides of the papillary thyroid carcinoma in 3 patients. a The case is from a patient with a 1.63-cm left middle thyroid nodule. A suspicious malignant nodule with hypoechogenicity and lobulated margin was observed on gray-scale US. SWE showed generalized uneven distribution of high elasticity index (EI) area within the nodule. Masson’s trichrome staining showed uneven irregular distribution of fibrosis within the nodule, concordant with the high EI area on SWE. b The case is from a patient with a 0.52-cm right middle thyroid nodule. A suspicious malignant nodule with taller-than-wide shape, microcalcification, and irregular margin was observed on gray-scale US. SWE showed high EI area over the entire nodule. On Masson Trichrome staining, fibrosis was observed in the entire nodule, concordant with the high EI area on SWE. c The case is from a patient with a 1.00-cm right lower thyroid nodule. A suspicious malignant nodule with hypoechogenicity, microcalcification, and lobulated margin was observed on gray-scale US. SWE showed high EI area in the upper portion of the nodule. Similar to the high EI area on SWE, fibrosis was observed in the upper portion of the nodule on Masson’s trichrome staining